


A New Method of Persuasion

by JadeHittocere



Series: Methods of Persausion [1]
Category: Meitantei Conan | Detective Conan | Case Closed
Genre: Considerable age difference, Gin (DC) acting like Gin, Guns, Kid Heist, M/M, Mild Gore, Murder Magnet, NOT!Underage, Slash, Vermouth being Mischevious (aka being Vermouth), murder mysteries, murders
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-07-22
Updated: 2017-04-28
Packaged: 2017-11-10 12:34:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 39
Words: 94,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/466328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JadeHittocere/pseuds/JadeHittocere
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tired of living in the shadows and running from the Black Organization, Kudou Shinichi decides there is only one thing to do. He comes up with a plan that he thinks will protect everyone else, while freeing him from the shadows he has been banished to as Conan. He will do the unexpected, he's going to try to reason and barter a deal from the very man who shrunk him. SLASH involved.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. PART ONE- THE PHANTOM SHIELD

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was written by username Hittocere from Fanfiction.net (that's me!) and beta'd by username HittocereBattosai from Fanfiction.net (that's Jade).

When Shinichi came to his latest decision he wasn’t too proud of it, but he knew it was the only way to protect everything he cared about. He was going to contact the black organization, and he was going to have to ask Kaitou Kid for his assistance as well. As little Conan Edogawa he was having quite a problem getting things to go his way, and this was the only way. Or so he had decided. He took out his phone looking at the display sadly. 9:45, almost time for Kid’s heist, and he was waiting at the exit the thief would probably use. 

Sure enough after all the flashy shows were gone through the white clad phantom almost skipped past him completely. If not for the soccer ball placed in his way he might have kept going, the thief eyed it suspiciously then located him promptly. The Chibi Meitantei smiled, looking up sadly to shock the thief greatly. He knelt down tilting his head sideways to show even more confusion. 

“Tantei kun… What are you doing? Why didn’t you…” the thief looked in disbelief as Conan held up a small card. The phantom thief looked at it in wonder, then at the Chibi Meitantei, his eyes held an almost defeated look. The little card held the Kudou address, and its main phone line on it. It also had his father’s name on it, but he himself hadn’t the need to make business cards when the police already came knocking at his door or he was already involved in the murders. 

“I sadly need a favor from you, if you are interested be there at six o’clock this Friday. If not call the number and let me know as soon as you can,” Shinichi looked at the watch, “otherwise I have to ask Hattori, and he won’t be nearly as useful. There will not be any police or detectives (besides myself) present. I wish to come out of the shadows, this will either accomplish that, or you’ll have to attend the funeral (not that I expect you to). For this as you most likely guessed is not what I am supposed to look like, that is my father’s card if you wish to be involved.” Shinichi wondered if the thief would consider helping, he knew that he was curious if nothing else. 

A curious Kaitou Kid was a useful Kid, a bored one was to unleash the heist chaos upon him. Kid was a thoughtful individual and the word ‘funeral’ coupled with Kid’s own rule of no one gets hurt at a Kid heist should be enough. However, there was the small chance he had read the thief wrong, but Shinichi doubted he had read him to far off. Kid was looking at him seriously, white cape fluttering in all its glory. 

“Kudou Yuusaku… that should make you… ah! You are the detective who shot at me!” Kaitou’s voice was excited, “That high school detective Kudou Shinichi. Well that explains some things, I thought for a second I was getting sloppy if a kid could read me so easily. So whom is after you Tantei Kun?” Shinichi smiled at the fact Kid recognized his true name without any research, until that last sentence. So someone was after Kid besides the Kid Taskforce and the amateur detectives. He thought he had seen snipers, which wasn’t the taskforce, he had even watched Kid dance his way out of danger a few times. 

“Spider web,” he answered softly following Kid across the roof, “who are you running from, besides the obvious ones of course.” Kid prepared his glider, looking back at the little detective. He was quite serious wasn’t he? Well Kid would have fixed that if he wasn’t on a time crunch. 

“Black Suits, and Snakes,” Kid looked warily around, “consider me there. Don’t forget to check the door.” Kid smiled and was gone noticing the relieved expression on Shinichi’s small face, “you’ll owe me one Kudou kun, if you live through the experience.” Shinichi nodded, offering up a small smile. 

“Yes, but I’m still not going to let you get away with anything you kleptomaniac,” Shinichi called after the thief as he jumped off the side of the building. He turned with the trademark insane grin that made most of the taskforce roll their eyes and prepare to duck. Shinichi smiled and waved instead.


	2. PART TWO- HOW NOT TO DIE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As an author of a fan fiction I do not own any part of these works which includes everything from Shinichi and his bow-tie voice changer to Gin's Porsche. Enjoy... (can't believe I forgot the disclaimer....)

****

* * *

Shinichi checked the clock impatiently, he should have had the note delivered yesterday. Or at least for planning purposes he should have, the man he wanted to contact wasn't to terribly hard to find. His car was a historical model after all, and it wouldn't be difficult to locate. All he needed was Kid to plant the note, because sort of announcing that Shinichi Kudo was alive he had no way to ensure they would come.

Knowing the assassin was as dangerous as he was didn't help matters, only Kaitou Kid could perform the task he needed done. At six o'clock today he would formally introduce himself to Kid and explain why he was going to need his help. Today had been planned to see if Kid would place the note and keep an eye on him while he explained his plan to… most likely Gin, if not him and Vodka. He also needed to bounce ideas off the thief and see if he could see any short comings besides the whole 'if this doesn't work not only am I going to die, but everyone else I care about will too.' He just hoped that he could word the note in such a way that Gin and his partner wouldn't shoot him on sight.

Even if he did do that right, he still needed to warn Haibara, or at least inform her so she didn't have a heart attack. He already knew she wouldn't approve of the plan, but he had no choice. His Ran was in danger, as were his parents wherever the hell they were, and more importantly than anything else he had come to realize, a lot of innocent children at the elementary he now attended including the Shonen Tantei/Detective Boys (plus Ayumi).

He did not want to see or be responsible for such a thing, and he was fast approaching his breaking point with the acting. He was expected to be Conan by so many people, and between Shinichi himself and Hattori alone they had almost given it away quite a few times. Only their relatively quick thinking and clueless old Mouri had managed to save them. Shinichi had almost had to ban the young man from Osaka from using his last name. He didn't want to, but he was quickly getting loose lipped around Kazuha and Ran.

At least Kaito Kid had a shred of tact when it came to life altering secrets, and he would have to be quite the secret keeper to pull off being a teenage famous thief. For not only would he be imprisoned if caught, it seemed that Kid was in a situation not unlike Shinichi. Only he would know when they found him, Shinichi would never be certain even if there was gunfire in his direction.

As his class was dismissed he found himself unexpectedly cornered by the Shonen Tantei. Which also at this point was including a very humorless Ai Haibara, he cringed. She looked at him with that very… scary look. It meant a lot of things, which is why it scared him above all else he couldn't read just which statement she meant to glare his direction. His acting was off today he knew, he was quieter, and he knew beyond a doubt he had used several words he shouldn't have known today. Ai was most likely furious, but she would withhold it until he was present at Agasa's this afternoon.

"Edogawa kun, you haven't been yourself today… Are you not feeling well?" Haibara started containing her irritated state by suddenly diverting the attention of the others on Shinichi. He immediately was bombarded by questions concerning his health and what he was doing that weekend. He didn't forget to mention of course that he had plans to hang out with a kid his parents had introduced him to.


	3. PART THREE- A SPIDER’S ACQUAINTANCE

The mission had gone more perfectly than normal, all the targets had been effectively silenced. He wiped down his person to eliminate any visible evidence, Vodka was waiting in the car for him to return. Of course he hadn't expected all of the pink frills, smoke, and was that a note? Vodka was asleep, he could tell the man wasn't dead, and had Gin been a simpler man, he would have been thankful he wasn't shot or something worst inside his car.

It was very expensive to restore cars like his precious classic 1950's Porsche, it was almost as expensive to have them cleaned properly, and with no questions. Gin however was no simple man, had it not been lying on his car he would have shot the thing away. He simply did not respond to taunts, and he was not about to shoot at his car. He lifted the note cautiously, the frills fell away to reveal a simple note. Gin was well aware of whom must have delivered it.

Only that one could be capable of finding his vehicle and leaving such a disgrace around it. The annoying pest Kaitou Kid, and his irritating habits… Why would such a talented little fox use pink in his devices? Perhaps he would change his tune if the thief used blood red smoke instead… He lifted the note, knowing that the thief was long gone.

It was a simple half fold nothing elaborate, nothing to fear for its contents as there was nothing there but ink. Gin didn't want to sniff the thing, the lingering pink dust was enough to make him roll his eyes. He opened the note to reveal very neat handwriting, clearly not the thief's. So then who? His eyes glanced at the corner before reading through the note. Kudo Shinichi? So the boy was alive… He went back to the beginning, he had to admit it was quite simple.

The detective wanted to meet and settle things without the police, he had information for him personally. His note asked that he not be shot upon relieving himself, and in exchange he would discuss certain possibilities. Well that wasn't too unreasonable, there was the very touchy matter of where such a meeting should take place. Kudo Shinichi had been so bold as to recommend the very setting as his home. Gin wondered just how much of the note was true, but considering Vodka was still in the car alive and no officers had appeared the note seemed to be true.

The detective would be doing things without the police, and in doing so he was being discrete by having the thief drop off the note. Gin wasn't sure if he should be worried or not that someone who knew what he was knew exactly what his car looked like. Most times he would just shoot the people in question and be done with that business, it appeared that shoot first and find facts later was not appropriate in this case. As Kudo Shinichi was somehow alive, and was now somehow contacting him.

The real question was what did he want? Gin placed the note in his pocket and sat down in his classic Porsche, he would find out soon enough. The note also asked that it be taken care of tonight, which conveniently fit into his evening. Not one to leave loose ends Gin drove towards the Kudo estate, Vodka stirred as the car's engine roared with the speed it was being forced to produce. He looked over at Gin wondering if he was in the middle of running from somewhere. Then a thought occurred to him, Gin was smiling manically as per the norm.

Finally noticing Vodka's status as awake, that and approaching his destination Gin handed him the note to review. Vodka stared at it for a moment before actually reading it. With in the note was this:

* * *

_I had to call in a favor to get this delivered without using legal channels. Because that would defeat the entire purpose of this note._

_I would like to live outside these shadows that I have been forced into during our last… meeting. I have not told the police, and nor do I have any intention in involving them in this matter. I wish to meet with you and seek out a way to ensure that innocents are not harmed over my living currently. I would trade my services or just what information I have on a certain scientist for this reason. The only thing I ask is you give me time to explain before shooting and or eliminating me upon your arrival._

_I shall be at my family residence this evening, the only other there besides me will be the one who delivered this note._

_Sincerely, Kudo Shinichi_

* * *

Vodka looked at the note then at Gin whom had stopped some distance from the Kudo Estate. The note while it asked that he not be shot without being given the chance to explain, it clearly didn't ask for him not to be shot at all. The kid was at least realistic, they would give him a chance, but that was it. Gin check his gun putting in a fresh clip, Vodka checked his own, he had more ammunition out of the two of them. Gin was the better shot though, Gin glanced at the note, then back at Vodka.

He felt quite foolish, going in armed and alone in an unfamiliar location. He would rather leave Vodka as a backup plan then have both of them go in and be ambushed. Besides, the note had been for him, and he would have been in the way. Gin liked his odds better with Vodka not in the same room with those two. The Great Detective of the West and the Phantom Thief in the same room would not be good, especially with Vodka.

"If I'm not back in… lets say an hour, you will begin by eliminating the Mouris. After which I expect a systematic elimination of every student to ever come in contact with Kudo," Gin instructed, "simple instructions, right Vodka? I will meet with the thief and detective, while you will be keeping a look out from the place of your choice. If I require more time I will give you a signal, one of my usual ones. If you see anything suspicious, shoot out one of the windows on the house next door."

Vodka nodded checking his gun had the safety on for now, Gin tucking his away in his trench coat. Vodka watched his partner walk the other direction and could barely contain his unease at the situation. He however remembered how he had almost been bugged, and then tracked all the way back to HQ. It was just safer to let Gin handle the situation, and those two were as clever as it got as was Gin. He would be useless inside the Kudo residence and he knew it. As did Gin, which is why in fact he was not going to be there.

"Be careful Aniki," he added before the blonde murderer got too far away. The blonde nodded sparing an eye back his way. When wasn't Gin careful? Right now he was trying to steel himself before he had to deal with the detective. He wasn't entirely looking forward to this…


	4. PART FOUR- A FOX, A RABBIT, & A WOLVERINE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Slash part won't be until the cure, which Haibara will undoubtedly be a part of (and I mean the creating a cure). As per the norm, as a fan fiction writer, there was no profits made off this fic, and I am not deluded enough to think I own even one pixel of these characters.

Shinichi had taken the antidote from Haibara a while ago, he had no doubt that it would work when he did take it. He was very nervous that the blond would not listen first, and just simply shoot him anyways. Kid was watching out the window for any signs that they were coming, if Shinichi hadn't seen him at the heists totally at ease he would never have realized just how much planning ahead was involved. Everything always went to some variation of the clever young man's plan.

"I saw the car, he should be here shortly Tantei Kun. Will you be taking your miracle pill now?" Kid asked leaning on the railing looking down on him. Shinichi was still Conan sized at this point, he went to the bathroom with his Shinichi clothes in hand. A glass of water and the antidote in hand. He downed the pill and waited for the familiar bone melting heat to rack his poor body. He did not have to wait long, soon the pain in chest was unbearable and his form elongated into that of Shinichi Kudo.

He waited a moment for the soccer balls pelting his body from the inside to stop before dressing in his Teitan High Uniform. The only clean crisp thing in his closet as it turned out. He straightened his bow-tie and splashed a bit of water in his face attempting to remind himself just whom he had invited. There was a crisp knock at the door, and Shinichi calmly made his way to the library sitting room. Kaito had left the door unlocked, Shinichi cleared his throat almost feeling himself freeze in fear.

"Please come in," Shinichi called standing in plain view of the door hands in his slacks. He had given his watch over to Kaito as part of his deal for the night. The door opened slowly, and Shinichi caught sight of those cruel jade eyes once again. He entered looking around, noticing everything in the room, yet nothing. "I have no weapons on my person, unless you count my legs, but for further proof there is nothing here I would be able to kick. I can understand that you came armed, and I will not even waste my breath asking you to take it off your person." The tall blond assassin gave him a look that he was quite unfamiliar with, it wasn't a smile, nor was it a murderous grin, nor was it like a scowl.

"Wise choice," the voice was deep, but it wasn't as crazy as he had expected, "so what is it you want Kudo? Don't bother with all sorts of fancy words now, I want it blunt and to the point or I will shoot you and walk right through that door." Shinichi understood he had limited time to convey his message, he had only hoped that he could remember all the points long enough to get them across.

"I shall keep that in mind. What I want is simple, if you want me dead just shoot me here and leave my friends and family alone. I haven't told them anything, and they are innocent. What I have to bargain with, I know where your operative Sherry is," Shinichi watched the jade eyes flash, "I also mentioned services in my letter. Since you left your partner behind I will clarify that. I am considered to be the modern times Sherlock Holmes, I would stay out of any cases involving your organization so long as I was left alive, and I would go so far as if you asked for my assistance I would, however much it pains me, help on the matter."

"As in tracking people like Sherry I assume? That seems like an interesting idea," Gin looked up at the railing where Kaitou Kid was looking down from, "I suppose you have more still though?" Shinichi's eyes widened a little, but he nodded nervously looking up at Kaitou who looked rather unnerved as well.

"There are two other things… The first is I could try and convince Sherry to go back to the organization with you," Shinichi was having a hard time not saying Haibara, but that was to be expected, "the other is something I was hoping that it wouldn't come to… but if it allows me to live I would consider doing it in a heart beat." Gin raised an eyebrow watching the nervous teen wondering just what was making him so nervous. He glanced at his watch, barely ten minutes had passed since he had last seen Vodka.

"And that would be?" Gin finally asked watching a giant blush spread wide across the young detective's cheeks. Something clicked and it wasn't a gun. Gin stared blankly at the teen, his mask hiding his utter disbelief. The teen couldn't really be about to suggest… could he?

"I…. I would let you… have…" the teen was blushing badly, the thief had disappeared again. Meaning it really must have been what he thought it was. The teen unable to put it into words gestured at his body. Gin took a step forward, looking carefully at the boy. Normally he would never have agreed to such a thing, might have even been insulted had the boy not been begging for his life.

"You are offering yourself to me in exchange for your life?" Gin asked making it very clear that he understood what was being offered. The boy nodded, "I think we can reach an arrangement of a sort with all of these things you are willing to provide. First thing is first, would Sherry go back if you asked?" Shinichi who was glad for the somewhat switch of topics thought about it.

"If she was given a little more freedom, and treated a little better I think she would if she knew everyone would be okay. She's really kind underneath that exterior of hers," Shinichi stated, to his amazement the blond nodded in agreement, "there would only be one other thing, and until it was dealt with I would be unable to… make good on that last offer." Gin raised his eyebrow yet again. "It was an unexpected side result of the poison which you gave me, which I will need Sherry to make a cure to."

"Which would be Kudo?" Gin asked, he was curious just what the poison did to a person. He really did wonder just how Sherry had managed to escape. "Well what did the Apotoxin do Kudo?" Shinichi still looked uncomfortable, he started wringing his hands in his nervousness.

"I will be shrunk to the size of a small child when Sherry's antidote wears off, right now she can only make temporary antidotes. Before I say anymore, will Sherry be accepted back if she comes willingly?" Shinichi waited for the blond man to respond. It was a small nod, "so do we have an arrangement then… ?" Gin realized that the teen did not know what he was called, he merely knew his appearance.

"Gin. In exchange for Sherry's cooperation and your own the others besides the one upstairs will be left alone. Should either of you go back on your word, all of them will be shot and or eliminated, starting with whichever of you we find first, then will be your pet Mouri. Do I make myself clear?" Gin spelled it out clearly for him, "as for your last offer… I shall accept it and in exchange you will be allowed to go back to the way things mostly were before you were nosy. As a token of good faith I will however require that Sherry is handed over immediately." Shinichi looked uneasy, this was just going far to well. Gin glanced at his watch again, 25 minutes since he had seen Vodka.

"Would tomorrow be acceptable?" Shinichi tried. Gin gave him a look that said, 'I given you too much already.' And Shinichi knew he would have to get Haibara soon if Kaito wasn't already on it. "Tonight it is. Um… may I ask why you keep glancing at your watch?" Gin looked at him for a second, then at his watch.

"I left my partner outside, if he doesn't hear from me during a designated time he will start eliminating loose ends. So it is in your best interests I keep an eye on the time," Gin explained, "how did you get that thief to leave the note on my car anyways?" Shinichi shrugged it wasn't important. The fact that Gin hadn't shot him was, as was what time he returned to Vodka. In attempt not to sound threatening he had conveniently not used Gin's codename.

"Trade secret I'm afraid. Kid did you?" he heard the steps at the entrance and watched a furious Haibara head straight for him. She stopped however as soon as Gin's gaze dropped on her, she froze looking at Shinichi in horror. "It's alright, no one's going to die Haibara. Gin will take you back to the organization, and everyone will be safe." She continued to stare at him in disbelief.

"Shiho," Gin said quietly gathering her attention, "your pet detective here is telling the truth. If you return no questions will be asked, no disciplinary actions will occur. All of your friends will be safe, as long as you come with me now." She looked betrayed, she walked over to Shinichi and smacked him straight across the face.

"You little fool." Haibara's words were almost as cold as the first time he had heard her speak. Almost, but at the same time they had some hope to them. As he watched Haibara leave with Gin he sure as hell hoped he wasn't making the mistake of his life. Considering he was still alive he was going to go with, most likely he had taken the proper course of action.


	5. PART FIVE- A KUDO SIZED MELTDOWN

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As per the norm, as a fan fiction writer, there was no profits made off this fic, and I am not deluded enough to think I own even one pixel of these characters.
> 
> My comment for this part is that everyone has a breaking point.

Shinichi was surprised that Kaitou Kid remained after the whole ordeal was over, but then again who else could he trust with such information without endangering them? His parents were out of the question as was Ran, but now what would he tell the Shonen Tantei? Shinichi looked at the thief with questions, and to his amazement the thief wasn't mortified at what had just happened.

"She choose to join them to begin with, I cannot say that you made the wrong choice entirely Tantei Kun. He didn't shoot you, so I would assume that he will stick to your agreement," Kid frowned slightly, "it would be far easy for him to have shot you both then to take the route he has just gone through." Shinichi waited for the joke to appear, but one never came. Kid was being serious with him, and he was being honest too.

"Would you feel bad Kid, I mean that man terrifies us… and we sent a young girl with him alone. Even if she is really nineteen at the most she only has the defenses of a ten year old if that," Shinichi sat on the couch glancing at the very silent thief, "she doesn't carry a gun like you'd expect her to either Kid. Haibara was totally caught off guard… I'm lucky she didn't have a stroke walking in to see that." Kid was still was visibly tense from the encounter. He leaned back against a bookcase rolling his shoulders.

"Tantei Kun you cannot blame yourself for everything that transpired. Your meeting was a success, everyone is still alive including the both of you. Even if you are a bit shaken, you're alive and you'll soon be able to show your face again if this 'Gin' character is true to his word," Kaitou Kid was trying to cheer him up now? Shinichi groaned flopping sideways in frustration.

"We don't know that he will Kid, all I can do is trust his word. That is in fact the same man that shot Haibara before on the roof, and the same man that poisoned me that night! The fact that I am currently breathing at the moment is an astronomical impossibility!" Shinichi yelled at the ceiling. The thief smiled cheekily, despite the venting the teenage detective was doing he was very clearly relieved if Kid was picking the right tones out.

"Well praise that miracle you overwhelming excuse of a cynicst," Kid countered rather lightheartedly, "so what about that offer of yours… you know which one. Do you think that a man like that would really… ya know. Take you up on it?" That was the point that most concerned the thief, the boy genius had offered that up as a last result. The look that crossed blonds' face was so strange it took the thief a moment to read it. The blond man had of course had a light look of shock, and even that was well masked considering it was the small widening of his eyes that gave that away. No the look he was referring to was the one that must have been embarrassment.

"He already did if you recall," Shinichi replied looking at the back of his hand for some sort of amusement, "I have sold myself to the darkness it seems in order to sneak back into the light. Why must every turn I take cost me more than I originally plan for?" He let his hand fall and went back to staring at the ceiling. "Haibara's going to shoot me if she ever escapes them again for this…" Shinichi closed his eyes after a moment, he found himself memorizing those cold jade eyes.

"I wouldn't doubt that she would given the reaction she showed to us," Kid agreed, "however are you sure it wise to offer up that suggestion of yours to begin with?" Shinichi looked over at him, he was quite tired at this point. He would possibly wake up as Conan in a few short hours, and he would probably be coming face to face with Gin again very soon. He decided he was entitled to a little anger towards the thief who wasn't being directly threatened in the least.

"Which one? Turning over the person that understood my situation the best, or offering myself up as his bitch? Really Kid I thought you would have more tact then to keep asking me that!" Shinichi had raised himself to a sitting position to yell. The thief stood there smugly for all he knew with not so much as one consequence from the whole ordeal. His smile however was gone, he took a very long breath and stared directly at the irritated detective.

"Your anger is misplaced Tantei Kun, I am not your enemy in this. You devised all of this yourself, you even asked me to be here tonight," Kid calmly responded. He knew that the detective was upset, but over something he did not yet have to deal with, "until your issue is cleared you do not have to worry about that promise. Until you are just Kudo he will not expect you to, think about it. That cure will take her months with the proper equipment if I understand the situation correctly! How can you already be so hostile when you of all people know that?" Kid's voice was only slightly strained, he knew that Kudo was under pressure. He also knew that the detective was clearly choosing not to handle it well this time.

"How can you lecture me on being hostile when you're the criminal? Hostile is what detectives are! We corner, trap, and bully our confessions out of people like you! My methods are no different, I corner people so bad that I almost got myself killed!" Shinichi was nearly grinding his teeth, he was still yelling and he could feel the emotions he blocked starting to leak through even more, "People like you are responsible for the situation I am currently in! The reason I have given up on everything I could ever hope to do, so why shouldn't I be hostile?" Shinichi could now feel the tears, the silent wetness sliding down his cheeks as he yelled and screamed at the one person he had counted on to come to his aid.

The only one he had trusted to be there. He turned his face away in rage and shame, rage at what he was forced into doing. The shame of having to call a master thief instead of his best friend or his pseudo best friend whom he trusted with everything he couldn't manage.** He had called the Phantom Thief in to protect his friends from his mistakes, and to stop Hattori from doing anything rash.

Shinichi barely registered the arms that wrapped around his shoulders in a loose embrace. He stopped suppressing his futile tears, resorting on a full on breakdown. Kid much to his surprise didn't move as he cried onto the pristine white sleeves. All of his willpower to hold it in shattered, he had played his cards the best he could, and all he got was a draw. Shinichi felt cheated, he could never reveal the one simple truth that had just destroyed all of his chances at a normal life. There would be absolutely no consequences for the Black Organization, and he was forever doomed to one of its most lethal members by his own limited choices.

At least Kid wasn't making fun of him for crying, the heavens only knew how much more he could bear of his teasing. He couldn't have called Hattori, because he would have insisted on protecting him further resulting in almost everyone's deaths. He couldn't have called Ran, because she didn't even know he was fucking Conan who was forever at her side it seemed. He wouldn't ask Sonoko, because she was just a spoiled little brat who would tell anyone that would give her the time of day. And now he couldn't tell Haibara, because it was he who had betrayed her first by handing her over to the Organization.

Kid was silent, intelligent, and made a really good handkerchief when necessary. He also was the only one who could deliver the note that would set everyone else free. The one and only Kaitou Kid was also the one who was making sure right now, that he didn't have to hold up the world on his own, and caving in under its weight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **I consider Ran as his best friend, but he can't tell her about Conan so the second part is in reference to Hattori Heiji. I hope that makes sense...
> 
> AN: Well wrapping up this piece was harder than I thought (and I am only referring to the chapter). I like how the last sentence turned out though, it shows how much pressure people put on themselves. Review if you think somethings unclear, or if you have suggestions. This is currently my priority working fic.


	6. PART 6- WHY TO HATE…

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sadly this feels an awful lot like a filler which is annoying, cause I myself despise them. Well I just have to make up for it with more chappies...

Gin stared down at the little girl the detective claimed was Sherry, her breathing was shallow and she shuttered like a leaf when he was looking directly at her. It was clear, even despite the size difference this girl was Sherry, the cold exterior within regard to everything was the first clue. The fact that didn't apply to him was a dead give away that she was indeed Sherry. She held no other emotions, only fear in his presence as was expected of her.

Gin doubted she would try to escape in his presence, let alone when Vodka regrouped with him. Sherry was in fact acting on the spot as quite the schoolgirl, following diligently besides simply cowering behind him. She tripped every so often reminding herself in fact she was indeed trapped in his presence. Gin checked his pistol absently, he couldn't believe Sherry hadn't even tried to run away yet.

Vodka came into sight and she shuttered again, Gin held in a snicker at her discomfort but opted for a scoff instead. Vodka's face eased from stressed out (his skin stretched tight and jaw clenched) to relief (the semi-loud pop indicating Vodka's jawbone had just in fact relaxed) as Gin's familiar form entered his view. Then his eyes must have landed on the Chibi-Sherry, and had he not been wearing sunglasses Gin was quite sure his eyes were wide with shock. He grabbed her hand presenting the gift from the detective.

"I suppose you remember Vodka do you Sherry?" Gin let a touch of malice drip into his voice, "a gift from the Detective for my patience. What do you think Vodka?" Vodka watched her face as Gin spoke. He, like Gin, could recognize her as Sherry despite her younger appearance. Vodka smirked following Gin to his car, Sherry moving between them her arm still in the taller agent's grasp. Vodka took over as Gin unlocked the doors of the classic car.

"You'll be sitting on his lap where we can keep an eye on you," Gin announced to her. Sherry quivered as Gin held her arm while Vodka pushed the seat back slightly to allow for Sherry's form. Vodka looked at more or less settled when Sherry was placed on the passenger side with him. Gin rounded the car with practiced patience, trying not so seem too eager to leave Gin turned the key over sending a blank glare in Sherry's direction.

He watched the road disappear beneath the tires of his vintage Porsche, waiting for the current location of headquarters to come into view. It would be a long drive, and an even longer report, he wasn't quite sure why he hadn't just shot Sherry and the 'little' Detective as well. Things were easier when the people who could rat on you were dead, he lived by that statement, he killed by that statement. Vodka was the only one who could read him at all, and that was after… how many years as his partner?

Too many, because if he had heard what the detective had suggested he would never have let Gin take Sherry alive. Vodka knew just how little interaction he had with people, Gin trusted no one, sought out no company, and killed anyone that wormed too close to him. The blond assassin had no tolerance for all of the things associated with a relationship. This deal was a way around the relationship part, and went directly to instant gratification.

Gin wasn't sure he wanted the instant gratification… He could remember days when he wished he had someone he could hold, but he squelched the feeling beneath an exterior that made steel on a stormy day warmer. His time around Vermouth was enough to teach him he didn't want a woman. Women were needy, selfish, and bitchy… not to mention bipolar or over emotional over nothing! Why the hell would he care if their coat ripped? Go buy a new one damn it and stop whining already. Ah, they had arrived, he turned the engine off lazily.

Oh how he had hated the day Vermouth had come back from dealing with one of her missions, shot in the leg and babbling. She didn't cry, but damn did she babble about absolutely nothing! Vodka with his ever lasting patience had even grown tired of it, Gin had mercifully told her to shut up or walk. Vermouth's mouth instantly closed, and she looked at the window dazed for the rest of the trip.

Gin slammed the door shut a little harder than perhaps necessary. Vodka was holding Sherry's arm, and she was staring at Gin. The blond headed for the entrance, Vodka and Sherry trailing behind him. He headed for the main desk, having the secretary call up to see if the boss was available, once that was confirmed the secretary motioned to the closest elevator where the three boarded. After all someone was bound to notice Sherry's reappearance, and that would most likely be Vermouth. After all that particular agent wasn't nearly as blonde as she was cunning.


	7. PART SEVEN- WELL AT LEAST YOU DIDN'T GET SHOT

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As per the norm, as a fan fiction writer, there was no profits made off this fic, otherwise I would probably never stop typing. Ever.
> 
> Cliffies, Haibara, and rants ahead.

Shinichi couldn't decide whether he was an idiot or just plain suicidal when it came to his decision that Friday night. He had awoken as Conan, and in Kid's arms no less. He had the light fever which always accompanied his transformations between sizes, and Kid of course, had noticed. There had been a light wet cloth on his forehead, and he was quite sure the thief hadn't intended to stay that long. That however was the past, and he was getting ready to move further out of the past. As Shinichi Kudo, not Conan, he would soon be able to tell Ran he was an idiot and she would understand fully.

He wasn't sure if he should have made this decision sooner though. Things were finally in motion after how long? He had hoped that things would change for the better, and according to his calls from Haibara he had reason to continue hoping. He had not seen Gin since that night, but Haibara had called and given him quite the earful. She had her own unique way of making sure Shinichi knew it wasn't some imposter, and he was quite terrified that she would make good on some of her threats.

"Kudo kun… what did you say to Gin? He's actually been tolerable, and even as hell is unleashed on earth, civil. Civil towards me, not just Vodka, Vermouth has not been so lucky though," the Chibi scientist commented, making Shinichi smile. "Its not as though she doesn't deserve the cold shoulder. I'm surprised Gin hasn't shot her himself yet, you can tell he wants to…"

"That's promising, the part about him being tolerable. I just hope he keeps his word," Shinichi shivered. He felt his blood go cold, the image in his head was starting to fade unbeknownst to Haibara, "I'm afraid the details are on the confidential part. The short story was in exchange for you returning to the organization and some other loose terms the kids will be safe." He could hear Haibara's sigh of relief, he found himself relaxing slightly.

"I suppose you've been studying at Hakase's to try and catch up?" she asked quietly, "don't forget it's been almost two years Kudo kun. That's a lot of ground to cover, at least you don't have to think about the kiddy work." Shinichi almost laughed, that was true, the work at Teitan Elementary was something he could do in his sleep. Which apparently, he was given the current quality of his penmanship on said homework. Of course all of the extra kanji he was learning on the side probably wasn't helping, that in compilation with all the notes he was making for his old homework he was about to get back were making his hands ache.

His teacher thankfully had never noticed that he wrote left handed in class to produce the average wobbles of a grade-schooler. His name was carefully written each time, but the rest was almost incoherent. He held nothing back in making them look like authentic grade school work, except the overall perfection he had as student. Creating mistakes, and subtly making different errors that were necessary. He even had to, though he detested it wholly, butcher the languages he had studied so as not to draw suspicion. Especially when he misquoted his own favorite book series. All that cover work was about to go neatly away, he practiced his English in renewed vigor, reading the Holmes novels in their native tongue even!

"No more than to make sure I write everything with my left hand of course," Shinichi liked these calls from Haibara, "the Shonen Tantei miss you, as do I as of late."

"Kudo kun, tell them I miss them as well," Haibara's voice was quiet, "As for Gin, he has a very possessive nature, if you've done what I think you've done you are quite fortunate he didn't decide to shoot you on the spot Kudo kun. Braver men have than you have died at the end of his pistol, just promise me you won't test his patience." Shinichi quietly agreed that he was treading dangerous waters and playing with fire at the same time. Oh how he wished that he had nothing to do with his own situation.

"I promise Haibara, I will not test him. He would see through any attempt at that and shoot me on the spot," Shinichi stated rather fearfully, "I fear that I may not be able to contain my damned curiosity and do something foolish anyways." Haibara sighed on the other end of the line, she spoke to someone on the other end for a short bit before returning to the phone.

"Kudo kun, do your best to do so. I have to go, I'm sure you'll know when I complete the antidote for you," she questioned over the phone, "tell Hakase thank you one more time for me." Shinichi didn't have time to answer when he heard the line click. Haibara was in no danger in Gin's hands, at least so long as she behaved. Shinichi jumped down from the couch he was perched on to make his way to the Kudo Mansion kitchen to make a rather strong cup of coffee.

He heard the front lock turn, then footsteps. Shinichi abandoned his coffee and readied his watch. Hiding behind a cabinet door he waited for the inevitable, he hadn't been expecting company and Hakase always announced himself. Screen ready and locked on the door he watched it slowly open, waiting for some sort of sign. Any sign that it wasn't danger, too bad that wasn't the case.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I can't help it! I'm a sucker for cliffies, but you can guess by that last line whom is sneaking into Kudo Manor. Sorry for the long wait, unfortunately the next have just as long a wait. My Lappy took a tumble so I am reduced to internet-less desktops for the most part. On the plus side for you readers that means I will be typing more since I won't be able to read and get distracted by other fan fictions. (update from Hittocere 7/2012: I do have a new lappy seeing as these are the original notes from... 2010 that's when my laptop took a tumble. I have 32 chapters typed up as of 7/22/12)
> 
> As for actual chapter notes… YAY two more up. This is just a little new for me subject wise... I'm also not that brave, I read a lot more than I write. Hopefully I get past that by working on some of my little pet projects. If Jade doesn't keep distracting me as well... Later, Hittocere
> 
> PS. Thank you for the reviews guys. It strokes the Ego, and is quite... invaluble.


	8. PART 8- HEART ATTACK MUCH

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As per the norm, as a fan fiction writer, there are no profits made off this fic, and the point of fanfiction is to explore the unknown world. In this case Gin!
> 
> Well this has been done for a while, but it lacked Shinichi's correct character and thus has been thoroughly chewed through and then sanded with about 220 grit sand paper. Still a little rough, but at least Shinichi's back to being where he started. I'll leave an example of the dark humor Shinichi had taken away since this author enjoys that sort of humor.

Gin felt he'd done rather well with the brat detective's requests, Sherry was pleased with him at the very least. He had heard most of Sherry's side of the conversation and had decided to go see the detective. Judging from what had been said, he had nothing to worry about, and the kid hadn't broken any of the terms of their agreement. He was also curious to see what the detective looked like under the effects of the poison.

Unluckily for the detective, Gin wasn't the only one on his way to see the detective. When he reached the Kudou Manor the door was already unlocked and slightly ajar. Gin drew his pistol and slipped inside the dark manor. He could already hear the footsteps of an adult he didn't recognize, and two sets of breath. One was almost hyperventilating, the other was almost non-existent.

Nudging the doors open with his foot he surveyed the area looking for signs of any intruders in the house. He discovered that it was empty, save him, and the detective was nowhere to be seen, Gin retraced his footsteps towards the library he had visited before. The place was coated in dust, and Gin suspected that the detective didn't clean it just so that he could trace whomever was coming in and out. He cast a glance towards the first door and heard the distinctive thud of an object being hit rather forcefully.

A rather bulky nondescript man was backing slowly out of what must be the kitchen-for Gin could smell the coffee and other seasonings drifting out of it. He tripped over the table and flipped backwards his eyes still trained on the open doorway. Out of the kitchen stepped Kudou, whom true to his word appeared to be about ten years old. Dribbling a soccer ball he was staring down the criminal with a glare not unlike his own.

"Get out of my house, now." The boy detective's voice was low and almost a growl, "If I so much as catch one item missing, I will track you down and I will turn you in to the authorities. Now get out!" The soccer ball went from its stationary position to assaulting the man's face in less than five seconds. Gin was impressed at the welt left on the man's face, but could see that the boy child had made a serious error.

"You and what army will make me brat?" the man's face took a vicious turn, and Gin let himself watch curiously from the shadows. Kudou looked un-phased by this development, his watch hand twitched in annoyance but nothing else moved. "You are defenseless."

Taking that as a cue to step in, Gin growled an impressive, "Not quite," and stepped forward pistol drawn, firing between his eyes when the man looked his way. The boy detective stared at the corpse, the color in his face draining to a pale shade of white. His expression went from calm to horrified-maybe even terrified, and he started to tremble his knees rocking back and forth. Gin's voice sent the detective into a quivering mess, as to be expected, probably sending the memory of his shrinking through his mind. Gin spoke up again, "How long were you going to let that continue?"

The small detective looked up at him from the corpse, starting to recover from the shock, and started processing the scene. Gin was standing just outside of the line of shadows, pistol lowered slightly facing the little detective. Gin watched the small the detective examine the body, his small body no longer trembling, but still nervous as he looked over the would be thief.

Shock aside, the boy detective seemed quite unsurprised at his sharp shooter marksmanship, and that he had, in fact, hit his target square between the eyes. He could also tell that the boy detective had also taken note of the slight right drift of the bullet, with his note on Gin holding his gun in his left hand. The poor bastard never really stood a chance. Gin knew that his bullet had penetrated the man's skull then ripped through the man's lack-there-of of a brain.

.44 caliber core lock tips did nasty things to whatever they hit. Gin remembered testing the rounds before he started loading them for himself. He had hit a man with a hot load ballistic tip, not only had brain matter come out like watery sludge, but the back of the head had a hole the size of a volleyball where the shards of the bullet had severed its way through. A nasty clean up that had been, he'd had to pour twice the necessary amount of catalyst for the fire that consumed the body. Another detective no less, this short one had merely gotten a bit more luck.

"I can hear his brain still swashing about in there, at least what's left of it. .44 Caliber isn't it? A rather nasty load by the looks of it," Kudou called up to him trying to detach himself from the incident, "I suppose you hand load those rounds, considering the back of the head is intact still?" Gin watched the detective look over the scene briefly then look back up at him with a slightly disturbed expression crossing his face. His shivers returned as Gin spoke again, the mini detective twitched harshly.

"Clever brat, spent too much time analyzing crimes. Of course you would also know what must happen to cover the evidence up as well?" Gin holstered the pistol, "how were you planning on protecting yourself without the soccer ball? You are merely the size of a ten year old now little fox."

Said fox went back into the kitchen, likely after the coffee that was sitting on the counter-top. Still steaming despite the delay of the dead man's entrance to his home, as well as his unforeseen death in the study. Gin followed the boy into the kitchen, watching as he retrieved the cup from the counter and clasped it tightly in his hands.

"Trade secrets… the both of those. My defenses and your clean up methods, but does my house really have to go up in flames to close the evidence trail?" Kudou whined sipping his coffee, "can I at least save the library?" Gin sneered with humor, the detective continued nursing his coffee cup taking a seat at the table. Gin leaned against a kitchen wall, he wasn't quite that comfortable to sit down with the detective at his own kitchen table.

"I'll consider it, but I suggest you lock the door next time or you may not be so lucky again," Gin warned, "Sherry needs a test subject for the antidote. Am I right in assuming you'll volunteer?" The mini detective nodded, setting the coffee down to stare at the man across from him.

"She knows she doesn't even have to ask," Kudou started, "I hate living this way. I would do almost anything to be back amongst people my own age, if not closer to my intellect. This is the closest to hell I've ever been. Everyone underestimates you constantly and spells everything out because they think you don't understand," the mini detective slammed his fists on the table, "I am seventeen years old not six. I have seen more murder victims than most people will encounter in a lifetime in four months! I have solved more cases than the local police department has in the same amount of time! I was known as the modern Sherlock Holmes for god's sake, and now I am treated like a careless child on a near constant basis!"

"Sounds rather irritating," Gin allowed, "are you sure you'd rather stay on that side of the law? If you know so much of crime it would be easy for one such as you to cross to the dark side," Gin inquired, he almost sympathized with the mini detective. Even if the kid was a meddling and irritating piece of shit in person. "I should have shot you, it would have been less painful, and is a much more reliable disposal method."

"For once I agree," Kudou said deadpan, "it would have been a hell of a lot easier on both of us. So when does Sherry need me?" he finally asked. Gin pulled out the memo, glancing briefly over it, then tossed it on the table.

"Next Thursday, shouldn't be a problem. Kid's got a heist on Tuesday so everyone should still be caught up in that." Kudou looked over it again and set it back on the table, "I'll need Sherry to write a note asking if I can come visit her for the weekend for Ran. Is that at all possible?" Gin thought about it, keeping everything as simple as possible would be for the best.

"Where would you like me to leave it for you?" Gin wanted the least amount of people possible knowing about it. The boy detective looked thoughtful.

"Sherlock Holmes books, The Sign of the Four, chapter seven will be just fine. I'll check for it after Kid's heist," he answered. The murderer nodded and was off, it had been an interesting chat. But now he had a body to dispose of and, well, that would be simple, he mused to himself. Let's see… single body, thief. He was absolutely certain that Kudou would find out what became of his intruder in the morning, so he would be creative. A cruel grin stretched across his face as he exited the kitchen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hittocere: Originally in this chappie Shinichi asks Gin, "can I at least keep the library?" (in a whiney voice) and there was nothing about him going pale as Gin shot the guy in front of him. Jade pointed out to me that Shinichi does not in fact share my dark sense humor. That and asking that about the library and completely ignoring the dead guy on his carpet was completely and utterly out of character. In the end this is the resulting edit. She also pointed out one of my more changing points...
> 
> Jade: Yeaah. She used the word 'that' and the other forms of 'that' to carry out her... Stuff? She had a lack of specific mentions, I guess you could say. Gah. Missing the word for... that. Err. Yeah. And Gin really... metamorphosis the mental way he refers to Shinichi/Conan/Kudou/etc. I'm sure you've noticed them all...
> 
> Hittocere: she tells me that list above is thoroughly lacking, and that Gin would only use two or three to my twenty, kinda like Vermouth only uses Cool Guy. (Jade often suffers from forgetting words of the english language. And that's her primary language besides fanfiction lingo!) Anyways this particular habit of mine (as in changing the pronouns) is from getting bored of reading and or typing the same description over and over again. That's my stand point, if I get bored I don't write well, and let's say when humor takes over my muses things go...
> 
> Jade: It kinda... Twists it weirdly. Her humor, I mean. I'm used to it, I know it well, but it doesn't always fit or... translate well. Yeah.
> 
> Hittocere: anyways enough from me. I've got to send nine off so you guys can read it. later! *waves*


	9. PART NINE- PAROLE, VANDALISM , & RPG's

Shinichi had been less than surprised to see the dead man's face splashed across the front page of the morning news. Kogoro glanced over the headline making a few sarcastic remarks then turned straight to the racing pages. Shinichi read over the article guessing at the characters under Kogoro's fingers. The deceased was none other than Makoto Asakuma, a well known delinquent that had been arrested several times for burglary, vandalism, assault, battery… The list was quite colorful in all reality.

Shinichi decided the man must have had some rather sticky fingers with a short temper and an edge of paranoia. He was however unimpressed with the record of the event that the paper provided for him— but he needn't look into the man's crimes any further. What Shinichi really wanted to know, call it morbid curiosity, was how the man had supposedly 'died', and what evidence had been collected and reported. He was not disappointed by what he found.

The official police statement was suicide, in a rather nasty automobile incident involving a large concrete _kiss_ with an older apartment building. Judging from the picture attached, the mention of the car meeting building was the only accurate statement in the article. The car had nothing short of imploded. The paper mentioned that this was due to the car's impact, which looked likely.

If the picture was actually of his car, then the 'suicide' theoretically, must have been a flashy one or this was barely applicable, if at all. The car had to have been going a speed upwards of 60 kmph, anything under that wouldn't have caused that much destruction to the car itself. On top of that, after the car's massive impact against the building the gas had 'somehow' caught on fire—unlikely considering the car's make—thus destroying the deceased and any relevant forensic evidence. He could tell that the entire interior was charred a pitch black.

Shinichi could almost picture the blond assassin setting the whole thing up, he was, however, curious about how the assassin had worked the rigor mortis into setting in, in a way that would cause that sort of acceleration. There were lots of ways to setup most of the crime, it was how exactly he had set up the body just right to trigger the car to impact long after the blond was done and gone that he was curious about.

He moved to read a part of the article when Mouri moved his fingers and quirked an eyebrow at the location it revealed, aah, so it wasn't actually an apartment complex—it was a hotel. Almost in Osaka actually, that would mean Heiji would probably be called on the case. Heiji would then probably call him later, he would have an idea where to start but no trail to follow. He would however spot the rather blatant intent to obliterate anything resembling evidence.

Although the only thing that would honestly convict the blond would have been the bullet sloshing around in Asakuma's skull which probably either melted in the implosion and fire, or would likely get mistaken as some sort of shrapnel instead of a bullet anyway. All traces of the blond, Kudou Manor, and the method of relocation would be burnt away. Shinichi had a fair idea of what exactly the blond had set up with Asakuma, but was hung up on two details.

The first was technical. He really wanted to know how he got the body to hold the pose then release when rigor mortis was already long in effect. Maybe he had found a way to go around rigor mortis? The second was why the blond had picked that particular building… Although, he might just get that answer from the paper itself. There was a continuation to the article if he wasn't mistaken, now if only he could get a hand on the paper…

He grimaced. That was doubtful. Kogoro actually was interested in the paper today, maybe he could get Agasa hakase to snatch one up for him? He gave up on the newspaper and turned away, only to find Ran staring at him.

Her eyes had followed his to the paper and she was giving him one of those 'baka tantei otaku' looks. Shinichi frowned as she half tugged him out the door, his school uniform barely on. He had enough time to grab his book bag, and ponder the strange twist his life was now taking. His mind wandered back to the blond's presence at his home the following night. As Sherry had told him, he was rather non-hostile as a whole and Shinichi wondered just why the blond was attempting so early to play nice.

Of course, the man was armed and a psychopath, but he was a possessive one from what the shrunken detective had seen, which, at the moment, worked to Conan's favor. He was quite glad the murderer had taken the shot, rather than expose his only line of defense. Being Conan-sized, he really didn't have a whole lot of defensive options and having a possessive assassin-bodyguard could come in handy. It would only increase the body trail that already followed him, which by the way Shinichi attracted murders couldn't get much more. Speaking of much more, he was sure he couldn't take much more of the Shonen Tantei…

"Ohayou Conan kun," Ayumi called eerily cheery. Mitsuhiko and Genta were both wearing almost sadistically pleased smiles which sent his radar off. Doing a Conan style dodge he started to hide behind Ran, whom utterly deserted him at the gate to the elementary school. As Conan he made a face, inside as Shinichi he cringed and prayed it wasn't the day he suddenly thought it was.

"Oii Conan, why are you hiding? It's just picture day," Genta of course didn't see a problem with cameras. Nor did the other members of the Shonen Tantei, as Conan he had feigned and maintained a phobia of the device. Cameras led to pictures, pictures led to the internet, internet led to identification with the Black Org. and death. No, Shinichi really didn't like cameras anymore.

"Mou, cameras are scary. They make you see spots and steal your soul," Shinichi inwardly cringed at the horrible cliché that he was using. However that made them all do a double take, the Shonen Tantei liked to adventure sure, but ghosts were a whole 'nother ball game. Ayumi was scared of them, and ghost tales often lead to murders.

"Come on Conan kun, picture day only comes twice a year. Besides it looks like fun," Mitsuhiko chuckled excitedly. Shinichi felt Genta pushing his back towards school before he could put up a decent fight. At least that's what Mitsuhiko and Genta must have assumed, Shinichi of course spend too much time with a certain thief to be so easily caught. That, and he really didn't feel up to pictures…

Shinichi waited until Ran was safely away before resorting to playing dirty. He slipped out of Genta's grasp dodging Mitsuhiko, and ignoring Ayumi's calls to wait up. He watched the somewhat puzzled group try to reorganize and come after him for a moment before turning on his sneakers. His now super energized legs allowed him greater movement and he avoided the main building.

It vaguely reminded him of a Kaitou Kid chase, with him as Kaitou kid in this situation. He barely registered the teen watching from a distance whom should have set his radar off, but at this time he really didn't have a whole lot of attention to spare.

* * *

At the main gate a very bemused looking 'Shinichi' is watching his favorite Tantei kun. He recognized this game of cat and mouse as well, and was trying very hard not to let the manic grin escape his poker face. If only someone would suggest a mop to the girl this would be an all too a familiar scene. Feeling somewhat sorry for the small detective the high-school student dressed as the detective decided to interfere in their plans.

Well at least in about ten minutes if need be, for the moment it was going fairly amusing. In the mean time he was going to correct what was wrong with the scene from his point of view. Which meant Tantei kun was definitely going to be in for it.

The part of the illustrious Kaitou Kid will be played today by _Edogawa Conan_ , as he proceeds to slip away from _Genta_ , playing the part of Inspector Nakamori. (The parts of Hakuba will be played by _Mitsuhiko_ , and Nakamori Aoko by _Ayumi_.)

* * *

Shinichi was pulling himself up into a window several minutes after he thought he had lost them. He turned off his shoes and hung them around his neck as he took off running down the hall. Only to late did he see the mop handle laying across the floor, he tripped did a roll and kept going. He glanced behind to see Ayumi bringing up the short mop and chasing after him with a somewhat gleeful expression.

If Shinichi didn't know any better he would say he was some sort of cosmic butt of a joke at the moment. That wosened when he spotted the dove flying above him, it was dressed up like a Hawk for some obscure reason and seemed to almost be snickering at him. As he rounded the next corner he almost tripped as he saw the Sherlock Holmes outfit that Mitsuhiko was wearing. The dove landed on his arm for a moment as Shinichi passed before it started chasing him again.

'What the hell is going on?' Shinichi thought to himself as he rounded yet another corner. He vaguely realized that Genta had setup a blockade there of other students. Now Shinichi was sure, Kid was here and he had somehow gotten the situation to become a mini heist with him trying to escape just like Kid. Genta was shouting instructions in his loudest voice and Shinichi inwardly groaned, he was Nakamori keibu in this little adventure.

He had no doubt that Mitsuhiko was Saguru Hakuba, the dove dressed up like 'Watson' was enough to confirm that. Just who was Ayumi? He had never seen a mop wielding detective at the scene, well he assumed Kid had a reason for mentioning that to her. Shinichi nearly blanched as he stared at Kid dressed as himself at the principal's office.

Kid had a silver wrist watch, of course the screen didn't flip up and had a soccer ball at his feet. He had on the detective's trademark 'I got you' stare. Shinichi started coughing as confetti flew in his direction along with Kid's trademark pink smoke. He opened his eyes to find himself as the Kaitou Kid, he swore under his breath and forced himself to play along adapting the thief's manic grin as his own tipping the hat.

"I got you now Kid san, perhaps now you'll go to picture day?" Kid asked in good humor. Shinichi bowed slightly and tried to exit only to find a soccer ball fly past his head in an eerily familiar manner. "Now, wouldn't want to you to get away. After all we're having so much fun, aren't we Kid san?" Shinichi checked the pockets of Kid's mini suit to find Kid's normal non deadly devices ready and waiting for him.

"Wherever would you get that idea Tantei kun?" Shinichi chirped fingering a flash bomb shaped like the Black Star jewel of the Suzuki corporation. "Unfortunately I do have things to do and jewels to steal if you don't mind." He tossed the gem down hard and ran for it as Ayumi, Genta, and Mitsuhiko all appeared. Ayumi blushed slightly as he had accidently caused her skirt to fly up during his escape.

He was almost out when Kid caught up with him at the gym, shaking his head with overflowing mirth. He looked in all actuality ready to fall over laughing. "Now that was priceless, oh I suppose you'd like another disguise?" Kid whispered dropping another smoke bomb. In scant seconds Shinichi was disguised as another elementary student, reminding Shinichi of Kid's impressive disguise talents.

"That was far from funny, I suppose you were behind all of the details that sent me into a panic," Shinichi had his voice changer tie on and was feigning a slight Osaka accent on behalf of Heiji. He followed Kid back to the principal's office where his disguise was switched for his normal attire as Conan. The gentleman thief started the papers to sign him out, handing the clipboard down for him to sign Kudou Shinichi, making Kid the one who signed Edogawa Conan.

"Kudou Shinichi?" the secretary looked at Kid with a slightly confused look, "the Kudou Shinichi?" She looked impressed in a fan girlish sort of way, Shinichi looked at Kid with a 'don't even try it' look. Kid ever the actor decided to heed the detective's silent advice to keep it simple.

"Is there a problem with my taking Edogawa kun?" Kid asked, placing his hand on his hip almost girly in an aspect. As Conan, Shinichi cringed, did he really look like that? Kid's acting was the best there was and if that was how he was portraying Shinichi then that's the closest to a mirror watching himself do it.

"It's nothing, but could you autograph something for me great detective?" the desk secretary blushed lightly, and shook his head. She frowned, looking rather downcast all of a sudden.

"I'm sorry, but now it is not a good time. I'm actually in the middle of a rather large case in which I need Edogawa kun here to assist me. Perhaps some other time Ojouchan," Kid said swiftly turning around to look down at Shinichi whom nodded in approval. With himself thoroughly excused from picture day the detective's mood increased tenfold, especially with the fact he was no longer chased by Kid through Teitan Elementary.

He was indeed shocked to find Kid at his side, he briefly pondered the thief's reasons. Nothing particularly jumped out towards him to point him to the motives. He could see no reason for the thief's presence in Beika, other than something relating to himself. He still did not understand why the thief had decided to visit. Perhaps the thief would answer that soon enough without too much prodding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So next up is Rotten Apples, I'm not sure when that will be ready for everybody because it is refusing to comply to my demands to be written. So could be a while, and hopefully a little closer to the goal and a little less of Kaitou Kid since he should be busy preparing for his heist in chapter eleven. That threatens the end of me... *cowers next to oreos* I dread writing that part, seeing as it takes me quite a while to write a decent riddle... That damn heist will be the end of me... until the next.


	10. PART TEN- ROTTEN APPLES & THE SHADOW PLAY

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Written to Bad Apple! Shadow Play, Gumi (& Touhou) version in particular. video id 'Ec0QuViLVbY' on youtube. This chapter also references to the Case of the Blue Carbuncle, from the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. You do not have to read the case to understand the chapter, I just found it entertaining.  
> When I wrote this chapter originally it veered off somewhere into right field instead of left, I intend to correct this later on, but not in this chapter. Please accept my apologies at the abrupt change in direction mid chappie, but like my readers I wanted to address more of the storyline. Again I intend to address Conan/Shinichi's park visit later on... I learned my lesson and will not be veering off like that again. At least... not intentionally. Happy reading.
> 
> WARNING Several PoV changes ahead! Ayumi, Shinichi, and Agasa. I'm sorry that the lyrics make it confusing, but think of them like breaks at that point. Lyrics are in the Italics with a single quotation mark on each side.

_'Even in the midst of flowing time, I feel languid, look, spinning around and around.'_

Kid had actually had to come back to check on him, he could see the relieved look on the thief's face when they crossed the threshold of the Kudou Manor despite the poker face. It was the slight drop of Kid's shoulders, barest hint in his eyes, and the soft sigh as the door shut firmly behind him. Shinichi made sure he locked it this time. He didn't want any repeats of the last time he had been home.

"I came to personally invite you to my heist tomorrow, do you think you'll live long enough to get there?" Kid's expression was masked, but there was a slight fear that with everything going on his favorite detective may not show up. Shinichi looked at the mail that Agasa had neglected to pick up, there on top was Heiji's handwriting. He felt the thief's stare remaining on him for longer than he deemed comfortable.

_'I can't even see the heart that's leaving me, didn't you know?'_

"Of course, if I do manage to die you'll have to forgive me for only haunting you at heists until I am given a chance to haunt you home," Shinichi smiled devilishly, "then I'll go find Heiji and possess him so I can continue this game of cat and mouse. Fair enough, speaking of him… I think someone tattled on me." He held up the envelope for Kid to see, clear enough was the writing of the Osaka detective. The thief let out a ring of laughter reading it to himself.

"I wasn't aware that what we have is a tryst Tantei kun," Kid smirked taking up the envelope and looking over it for himself, "may I open your flame mail?" Shinichi nodded following the thief into the library where he slumped in his favorite chair for a moment. Dawning Heiji's voice and accent Kaitou Kid proceeded to read Heiji's note aloud.

" _KUDOU! What the hell are you thinking? Getting involved with the Kaitou Kid? Are you nuts? There's going to be a trail of pink confetti following you everywhere! Not to mention Inspector what's-his-face, and that girlfriend of yours is scary as hell. That girl that's in the same situation as you… Haibara isn't it?_ " Kid paused looking at Shinichi wondering if that was the little girl. He got a brief nod as the detective waited for him to continue, " _What I really want to know is why you let that… I can't even think of anything other than the words 'March Hare' to describe him!_

"Well that's almost a compliment.

_"You are such a stubborn idiot some days Kudou. Anyways, I did have something to ask you before I got that phone call this morning. It seems like I'll be at that hotel crash all day, give me a ring if you got any of that spirit left after the camera gets done with ya. Hattori Heiji._ " Kid looked positively beaming up until the hotel part. Shinichi looked at the thief waiting for the inevitable question. It never came, the thief just glanced at it briefly again before handing it back to him.

"Hattori can be an ass at times, but he's good guy over all. So what's bugging you Kid san?" He took a leap of faith and wondered if the thief would spill whatever the other reason he came to see him was.

"That case in the papers, you seemed less than surprised to hear of it, also earlier you joked of your own death like it was nothing," Kid stretched out and gave him an almost pointed look, "you are far too accustomed to these things Tantei kun. Just promise me you won't be too reckless…" Kaitou Kid was worried he was going to do something stupid? Shouldn't he have mentioned this prior to Shinichi contacting the blond murderer that had left a new bloodstain on his father's carpet just yesterday?

"Of course, do you happen to have a paper Kid San?" he asked rather hopeful. Kid reached under the blazer and pulled out a slightly wrinkled but intact paper, "thank you, ah there's your heist note as well. Ran and Sonoko will probably be there again as well…" Kid smiled, he liked that his poker face allowed for different types of smiles to grace his face. They allowed so much more communication than words alone.

"Of course, the more the merrier! See you tomorrow Tantei kun," he waved cheerily when he was about to make his escape when Shinichi grabbed the end of his cape. The thief stopped at the slight tug and looked at the expression on the shrunken detective's face.

"I need another favor, but this one is more for Ran then me. Any chance you could spare a few more minutes tonight on this annoying detective?" Shinichi had a very… lost look on his face. Kid smiled and nodded dropping down to Conan level. "I need you to call Ran as me later this evening. It will set her mind at ease and will help separate Conan and I as being the same person."

_'I can't even get myself to move, I continue to be washed down the cracks of time.'_

"But of course Kudou Meitantei san! What are the greatest magicians in the world but manipulators?" Kid replied with smiley sarcasm, "now you owe me three Kudou san. Expect that I will collect some day, probably to prove my identity to the fake Heisei Holmes as not Kaitou Kid."

Shinichi smiled back, "I guess you'll have to teach me some tricks of your trade at that point. Catch you tomorrow Kid." The thief grinned cheekily and threw a pink smoke pellet to disappear. With the thief's departure Shinichi started back into the article from early that morning. The burglar really had deserved most of his treatment yesterday. He sighed looking at Kid's notice finally, it was intriguing to say the least.

_'I don't know anything about what's around me, I'm just me and no more.'_

In a scuttled brig as the last vestiges fade from a day of flames its course is set to head. Sunk in the serene fluid movement there are the stark pale contrasts of Kings and wives. Surrounded by such majestic banners, yet poisoned by the amount of eyes centered 'round. Drifting without alarm through the shrinking clouds of doubt. Will the ravens or crows claim this night their own? Who knows, but it will drive past the audience of onlookers to safe haven in long forgotten doors.

_'Am I dreaming? Or seeing nothing? My words are useless even if I speak.'_

Shinichi looked pleased with himself, the notice was fairly straight forward after thirty minutes of intensive staring at the notice. Kid's target was the Bismark Sapphire, a relatively large gem inset in platinum with diamonds flanking either side of the necklace. It was by no means a hard choice given the reference to the German battle ship. The location and time on Tuesday were a bit more difficult. Had it actually been hosted at the private residence where it was being housed it would have more interesting.

The heist was to occur just after sunset on Tuesday, at the Royal Pavilion during an event hosted by none other than the Suzuki financial group. Sonoko was going to be thrilled at that, she would have her access and watch Kid up close again. Ran would of course be invited, which would give Conan's opportunity to attend a much higher chance. Kid would be very happy to see him front and center…

Wait a minute… why hadn't Kid tried to pose as Sonoko? She had access to everything, but of course that could make things way too easy for him. Kid liked a challenge and being Ran was far easier for Kid to cause such panic and dysfunction then as the annoying Suzuki heir. Maybe Kid just didn't like acting as annoying as Sonoko, though he could almost pull off both Mouris without being given away. He yawned thinking back on just how tiring the last few cases involving Kaitou Kid had been.

_'I'm just tired of being sad, I should go on without feeling anything.'_

Shinichi looked back at the earlier article he had been reading between Kogoro's fingers, the burglar's death at the hotel had been no coincidence either. The man had actually stolen from the hotel and was out on parole from that incident. The items had yet to be recovered, and it seemed the police had no leads on finding the missing pieces judging by the reward printed in bold for any relevant information leading to the discovery of the missing property. Another yawn covered his features when he set the paper down, his eyes drooping ever so slightly.

Shinichi decided that perhaps he should call Heiji about the hotel incident, grabbing up the phone he resigned himself for the tongue lashing he might get should the call go through. He set the phone back down a little too quickly, dropping it harshly against the cradle. That was when it occurred to him perhaps he should just stay out of it, Heiji was more than competent at the detective field in comparison to Kogoro and even Megure Keibu.

_'Even if you give me the words I'm at a loss for, my heart just won't pay attention.'_

Perhaps he was too involved now, it was time to take a step back and let the world spin a little. Shinichi looked out the window and decided he would rather be analytical to life outside then in his gloomy house at present. He grabbed a soccer ball and headed for the door to find something to distract his ever present need to solve puzzles. He thought back on his Holmes novels fondly as he turned and locked the door behind him. He closed his eyes and focused hard trying to pick a case to think through.

_'If I move myself away, if I change everything, I'll turn it all black.'_

He had a case in mind, from the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. He started thinking through the case as his feet lead him towards the park. He started dribbling the ball as he thought to what Watson must have thought when he stumbled upon that scene. A filthy old hat draped over a chair that had been inspected like it was the finest gem on display at a museum. He smiled lightly, then minutely noted the sky looked a lot… smoggier than it had been on his way home with Kid in tow. At the moment it didn't concern him, it was probably just a fire nearby.

He had found it rather… liberating to read a Holmes case that didn't involve some sort of violence. It wasn't his favorite case, being only a few chapters long, he much preferred the Sign of the Four. It took him a little prompting to remember the case, after all he had read the stories so many times they all tended to blend together as a mash of evidence.

_'Is there a future for someone like me? Will I still exist in a world like this?'_

His feet shuffled forward, still dribbling the soccer ball within detective mode, he barely registered the random event taking place before him. Then the soccer ball dropped, Shinichi paused his thoughts to track down the annoying ball. His senses had him weaving a crowd before the curiosity kicked in, why was there a huge crowd in Beika city park in the first place?

Shinichi darted through the small crowd to find a sack of groceries tipped all over in the middle, a scarf that had been repaired multiple times, and of course a bunch of small children fighting over a sack full of apples. The mortified mothers standing at attention, trying to quiet the small bundles of chaos efficiently; this happened to be futile considering the two crying at the edge of the circle.

He worked his way towards the two and found the first one with a skinned elbow bawling hysterically. She was so pitiful sounding he almost silenced her with a tranquilizer dart, the other was barely crying holding his knee and staring, no make that glaring, at a nearby patch of sidewalk.

_'Is this painful? Is it sad? Not even knowing myself.'_

One mom came up to the little girl and started to quiet her screeches, most likely from not being the center of attention. The child in front of Shinichi stood after a moment and when back to the apple bag. The adults in the area had dispersed the crowd much like policemen would do after a scuffle or murder. Shinichi was remotely impressed at how easily the rest of the children had separated, that left him with the child with the scuff on his knee, and the whiney girl with her mother, at least she seemed to be her mother. The bag of groceries still lay abandoned on the bench, the apple bag wasn't very far away leading Shinichi to believe they belonged to the same person perhaps.

"Can I take a look?" he asked the other boy who was hovering over the apples. The kid looks over at him shrugs and walks away. Shinichi can hear him muttering, but it isn't what he expected. The boy is muttering about 'why would anyone want a bag of rotten apples?', and how boring it is. Shinichi reaches in the bag and pulls out an apple from the bag sitting on the swing set across to examine the apple. He also is keeping an eye on the grocery bag.

_'I'm just tired even of walking, I don't even understand people.'_

The apple in his hands actually is not rotten, it is wilted because around the step looks as if it has been cut. Since it is no longer refrigerated the skin is sagging around the outside and feels as though it has been bruised. He gently tugs at the stem, with a soft pop the top part of the core pops out revealing a hole in the fruit. Shinichi lets a genuine expression of shock cross his face, inside the apple in his lap is a small gem.

Shinichi inspects the small stone, having some basic knowledge of precious stones surely helped him now. It was fairly large for a stone, about the size of the average woman's thumbnail, it had a slightly reddish tint to it. Shinichi can't tell if the stone is real or not, he has no idea what it is supposed to be so he places the stem piece back on the apple. After replacing it among the others he sits down on a swing set across from the bags.

_'If someone like me can change, if I can change, will I turn white?'_

He sits there watching, swinging slowly and watching. He slowly started to lose focus on the apples for the story he had begun before he reached the park. He watched as the world around him started to fade to nineteenth century London, was this what most people called day-dreaming?

Shinichi excepted the gradual fade to London in good stride, all of the children around started to look like English children. Running around a market giving their parents trouble, he watched as a tall bobby came and picked up the groceries with a frown painted across his features. Shinichi's curiosity peaked when the bobby simply left the bags there.

_'Even in the midst of flowing time, I feel languid, look, spinning around and around.'_

Shinichi could feel his mouth drop, why would the bobby leave the bags when they were abandoned? Shinichi continued to wait, he blinked twice when he saw a limping man, with tawny hair following a quick stepped fellow with a piercing gaze and gray eyes. Shinichi felt his heart stop, that could only be!—

_'I can't even see the heart that's leaving me, didn't you know?'_

"Holmes!" the tawny haired man called, "wait a second will you?" Shinichi smiled, if that was Holmes, then the limping man could be none other than Dr. Watson. Shinichi watched in amusement as Holmes turned on the groceries picked them up after barely looking at the apple bags. Shinichi spared Watson a glance, Watson was confused but followed limping deeply after Holmes. Shinichi stood and tried to run after them, he was soon met with an unseen obstacle.

_'I can't even get myself to move, I continue to be washed down the cracks of time.'_

"CLANG!" Shinichi felt like he had just ran into straight into a wall of iron, he watched as Holmes and Watson faded into darkness. He thought, that it was far too bright for 19th century London, at least for Shinichi's opinion, he shielded his eyes trying to block out the pounding headache that threatened to spill defiantly out his ears.

_'I don't know anything about what's around me, I'm just me and no more.'_

It seemed like he was half suspended in midair, perhaps that was just his outfit being snagged on what ever this thing was that was as cold and irritating as wet snow in your clothes. It was unpleasant and it didn't help with the high pitched noises he was failing to understand at the moment. If he didn't know any better, he'd say he took up sleep walking again judging by the varying degrees of discomfort.

_'Am I dreaming? Or seeing nothing? My words are useless even if I speak.'_

As he tried to move one arm he heard the noise increase exponentially, not to mention it hurt like hell. He could feel something rolling down his arm slowly now, and his head seemed like he had hit the metal stand of a goalie net instead of the net. He blinked trying to figure out where he had ended up in his dreaming this time.

Colors blurred together with the high pitched warnings that had gone down considerably since he stopped moving. There was a small pink and cream shape that was wobbling back almost warbling and forth with one considerably bigger white form looming behind it. Shinichi fell back into the black for a few moments he was sure, it was a bit of a sensory overload for him at the moment.

_'I'm just tired of being sad, I should go on without feeling anything.'_

"Conan kun! Stop moving," Ayumi watched her friend who was apparently sleep walking slammed himself into Kudou manor's dark gate. Hands outstretched trying to reach some object he was seeing in his mind, he was still trying to reach it now. His arms were being punctured by the fleur de lee on the gate, blood slowly trickled down his arms as he continued squirming. Ayumi tried to grab his shoulders to stop him, Conan only fought harder until she let go.

_'Even if you give me the words I'm at a loss for, my heart just won't pay attention.'_

Conan slumped against the gate, his sleeves starting to turn almost black from the blood and the dirt on the gate. Ayumi ran to Agasa's house in a panic, she couldn't just leave Conan there, but she couldn't stay there and watch him bleed himself… well he was already technically unconscious. Point being she was afraid for her friend, to her good fortune the professor answered quickly.

_'If I can move, if I change everything, I'll turn it all black.'_

"Ayumi chan, where is he?" Agasa was stumbling after her toward Kudo manor when he saw it's young inhabitant tangled up in the massive iron gates. Shinichi had scratched himself up good apparently. The professor took out his key and slowly unlocked the gate as to not jar Shinichi too badly with its movement. He lifted him off the gate and sat him resting against it.

Shinichi did not move, there was an unreadable expression crossing the overly boyish 'Conan' face. Then the small muttering, it wasn't crying coming from the young detective's mouth. The detective was whining about being left behind by Sherlock Holmes? Agasa shook the boy awake, as Shinichi returned to awareness he also changed expressions. A cringe was spreading across his face slowly, Agasa was shaking him where some of the scratches were located.

_'Is there a future to come out of this useless time? Will I exist in a place like this?'_

"Itai," he breathed slowly as he wrapped one uninjured hand around the one that had liquid running down to his wrist ever so slowly. Shinichi blinked as Agasa's form became clear, as did Ayumi's. He stared at his arm, willing it silently to stop bleeding as it would get him banned from the Kaitou Kid heist for sure.

_'If I wanted to tell you what kind of person I am, the words I'd use would be -"good for nothing."-'_

Ran was not going to be happy with either of them, especially not Conan who was going to be pulling a lot of disappearing acts in the near future. Shinichi sighed as he allowed himself to be pulled to Agasa's home to have his arms looked at. Kid would not be pleased with him either at this rate. Thankfully the amount of the crimson liquid staining his sleeves was actually more sweat than blood, between his morning run away from the Shonen Tantei, that and then his running at the gate trying to catch Holmes; he had more than enough to account for the liquid coating his arm.

_'Will I exist in a place like this? Will I exist in a time like this?'_

Shinichi smiled in good fortune as he remembered that the Apotoxin did have one good effect, the scratches would be mostly healed before he entered Haibara's custody. He had several shallow cuts where his arm had scraped quite harshly against the gate, there were only two or three large ones that had provided the majority of the blood that stained his once pristine white shirt.

_'If someone like me can change, if I can change, will I turn white?'_

Those cuts were treated and wrapped, Ayumi's mother stopped by to get her during the process. After all she couldn't be expected to walk home by herself in the dark, and 'Conan' was not an option seeing as he needed to be treated for the accidental self impalement on the rusty wrought iron gates of the very likely haunted Kudou manor. Shinichi nearly slapped his forehead, she might not have realized he was sleepwalking when he was sleep wrestling the iron gate.

_'Am I dreaming now? Or seeing nothing? My words are useless even if I speak.'_

He had all but forgotten that most of the Shonen Tantei thought his house was haunted ever since his disappearance. He realized that his house was indeed haunted, if not plagued by phantom thieves, high school detectives, not to mention mass murderers and crazed scientists. He was starting to wonder if things would ever get back to normal, he doubted anything could ever be considered normal in his life…

_'I'm just tired of being sad, I should go on without feeling anything.'_

At least Ran was normal. Shinichi smiled fondly, yes Ran was about as normal as he was in entirely different world. Ran was a champion when it came to Karate, as good as it gets for a friend, and as dangerous if not more than the blond when in a good rage. Shinichi visible paled when he remembered something she had said, she had in fact mentioned beating the tar out of him for being gone for so long. Or something along those lines, either way he was screwed.

_'Even if you give me the words I'm at a loss for, my heart just won't pay attention.'_

Sonoko was going to kill him as well, at least if he survived Ran's promised use as a sandbag. Not to mention what he was going to have to tell the Shonen Tantei… Perhaps that could wait a bit longer, he just needed to take one step a time. One small baby step towards freedom, one small leap of faith towards the sunlight.

_'If I can move, if I change everything, I'll turn it all black.'_

Agasa had left him in the front room to work on something, Shinichi found himself in the professor's kitchen seeking out the coffee that Ai had tried to hide from him weeks before. It never worked, of course she probably didn't realized just how many stashes of coffee the small detective had, or quite how many tracers extra the professor gave him to locate said miracle working drinks.

_'If I move, if I move, I'll destroy everything, I'll destroy everything.'_

The coffee was poured, drank and re-stashed away to be used at a later date when Ran appeared. She gave him her best ominous glance, that was when Shinichi realized that he as Conan had not called, or given her so much as one word of where he would be. Not only that, it was very close to a time kids that were Ayumi, Genta, and Mitsuhiko normally went to bed. Shinichi had only managed to gain half an hour with all the good behavior he could muster.

_'If I grieve, if I grieve, can my heart turn white?'_

"Conan kun, its time to go home. You have school tomorrow, that is unless of course you want to miss Sonoko at Kid's heist?" Ran's tone held more amusement that threat by that point. She certainly did have a point, Sonoko truly was at her worst fan-girl behavior when attending a Kid Heist. It would make the most excellent blackmail, except of course… That he had no way to use that blackmail with out reveal that he was in fact Shinichi shrunk to a ten year old size.

_'I still don't know about you, about myself, about everything.'_

He of course knew that if somehow managed that Ran would find out, and oh the gods how Ran had blackmail on him if she ever found out for sure. He shook his head and called out a good bye to Agasa Hakase before setting off with Ran. She seemed to be in a better mood, hopefully she didn't notice his missing bloodstained shirt. He really didn't want to explain that…

_'If I can open my heavy eyelids, if I break everything, then turn black!'_

"Conan kun, do you think Shinichi will ever be back," she asked solemnly looking down at him. Shinichi wished he could say something other than 'I don't know Ran Neechan,' but honestly he didn't know. He didn't know a lot of things, but there was at least one thing he was absolutely sure of.

Ran was more normal than he was, at least at the moment.


	11. PART ELEVEN- RIDDLE SOLVERS DON'T SOLVE RIDDLES

Shinichi sighed, it had been a long 16 hours in between the present and when he left Agasa Hakase's. He tugged at the costume that Ran had somehow persuaded him into wearing for the western holiday of Halloween. As much as he enjoyed Sherlock Holmes' cases he did not enjoy the manner of dress he was currently in. It smelled like it needed a kiloliter of febreeze dumped on it, not to mention run through a washing machine a dozen or so times. Sonoko had them picked up on the way to her uncle's, she was wearing this strange costume that Shinichi almost couldn't recognize.

Then he realized what exactly her costume was, he almost started snickering. Kid was going to have a field day, she was dressed up like a *Siren! Well as much Siren as one Sonoko Suzuki could be, Ran however could have pulled it off easily. Ran however was dressed up like… damn he couldn't remember what she had said. Hers had been much more subtle, and Shinichi had forgotten what exactly she had told him.

"Conan Kun, we're going to be late!" Ran called pulling up her skirt as she entered the limo. Shinichi followed after her, he didn't want Sonoko to leave without him after all. He glanced out the window and wondered what the blond assassin might look good dressed up as. A frown graced his Conan face, why was he thinking about that now? That blond would never dress up for Halloween, not unless Hell froze over and the Earth was about to become mashed space potatoes.

Sonoko started talking about the Royal Pavillion, it was on her uncle Jirokichi grounds. Shinichi remembered him, and he remembered her uncle's dog named Lupin as well. The thief and her uncle got along almost as well as Shinichi and Kid did, it was scary to think that such a wanted criminal was actually… dare he say it? A nice person, not at all like Nakamori Keibu made him out to be.

Ran's POV

As they passed by different estates the Royal Pavillion came into view finally. Separated from the main branch it had the look of an extravagant extended gazebo, the limo took them up to the main house first. Sonoko stepped out of the car first, talking about what she envisioned Kid's face to look like. Ran humored her and added some options, feeling particularly humorous today, Conan decided to add an answer.

"Maybe Kid san looks like Shinichi niichan," he added in a high pitched voice. Ran and Sonoko looked at him, then shook their heads dismissing the option. Ran had already had that theory, but at the end of the whole bioterrorism scare on the airship she was convinced. Shinichi was not Kid, Conan's assessment that he looked a lot like Shinichi however was correct. She raised an eyebrow at him wondering how he could have known immediately all those times that Shinchi was actually Kid.

Of course, there was the fact that Shinichi's big case didn't allow him in town a whole lot. Conan always knew if Shinichi was actually around or not, it was as if he had Shinichi radar. Not to mention the two were equally unlucky when it came to murders… Ran shook her head, no it couldn't be, that was another theory that had been disproven enough times she stopped thinking about it.

"Something wrong Ran neechan?" Conan's voice asked, it cut through her current thoughts easily. She shook her head, sending a soft smile his direction.

"I'm fine Conan kun, I doubt that Kid looks like Shinichi," Ran answered after a while, "Sonoko, do you think you uncle really will catch Kaitou Kid?" Sonoko's expression became mixed, then she turned and looked at Conan for a second. Not that Conan's opinion didn't matter to them, but that it was impossible, totally impossible that their missing detective had suddenly become a thief in his non existent free time. (A/N: Watch the 14th movie some time with de blimp, or zeppelin if you want to be technical.)

Shinichi's POV

"No, I really doubt he will," Sonoko admitted, "I think the brat here might though, someday he'll catch the thief if he paid any attention to Shinichi's lessons or your dad's." Shinichi smiled, of course he'd be able to catch the thief someday. He didn't think he'd be able to turn the thief in at that point however. He enjoyed the cat and mouse games too much.

"I'll try my best Sonoko san," Shinichi answered. The car barely moved when it stopped at the end of Jirokichi Suzuki's driveway. One of the butlers opened the door for Sonoko to get out, Ran and Shinichi followed after her as she made her way towards the main house. The two of them forced to work at . Which of course sent Sonoko's rant into over drive and fuelled Shinichi's desire to sneak away to start his Kid hunt.

He didn't have to wait long, Jirokichi seemed about as amused with his niece as Shinchi did. Lupin was following along behind them cheerily, and they took a detour towards the pavilion leaving Sonoko in Ran's capable hands for a while. Jirokichi was psyched, it had been a while since he had faced off against Kid and the miniature detective.

"Good to see you again bozu, always a pleasure to compete in the catch the thief races with you," the old man looked amused with him at the moment, "the Bismark Sapphire will be sitting on a pedestal in the middle there." Jirokichi pointed as they approached the Royal Pavillion, it was tall and airy. It would render Kid's smoke devices useless, especially with the ceiling fans that hung ready to start up a breeze.

"When will Nakamori Keibu arrive?" Shinichi asked and watched a small frown cross the mans face. Neither of them particularly cared for the inspector, but wherever Kid was involved Nakamori Keibu would show up.

"Too soon, his officers are already getting ready to hassle my guests," the old man sighed leaning down to scratch Lupin's ear, "don't get in too much trouble bozu. I have attendants to brief, if you'll excuse me." Jirokichi Suzuki was definitely onto him, he would have to be more careful in the future around the older man.

* * *

a/n: Please excuse this random break to later... Kuroba kun refusal to cooperate had him removed entirely, so I skipped straight to Kid's entrance for now. Maybe I'll add this segment in later...

* * *

Shinichi watched the before party in sheer boredom, dancers in random outfits, booze, and of course a brief history on the Bismarck Sapphire. Shinichi at this point was so bored he could have cared less, he was too busy trying to determine where Kid was going to pop out of. So many variables, now he knew exactly why Kid was so far off his rocker, he actually winged a lot of this... Shinichi shook his head, Kid was too clever for his own good, if he ever turned to a detective Shinichi might finally have a rival worthy of him.

The Chibi detective cringed looking around for a second, Hattori would be pissed that he even thought that. Ran was the only one who might have been able to pull off the mind reading thing on him, she however was to busy admiring the Bismarck Sapphire to notice his momentary look. He sighed glancing around, he suppressed the groan that threatened to escape when he saw the blue haired figure walking towards them. His almost form fitting white coat trimmed with navy blue and bits of gold here and there. Tight brown slacks, and a nice pair of loafers to tie it together, if he hadn't considered the idea before he certainly wouldn't have thought of it until now. Hakuba made a very interesting Kaito.

Shinichi however decided that Kid would most likely pull it off better. A Phantom thief playing a computer program that could sing, that would be highly amusing. The Chibi detective frowned, he certainly didn't expect Hakuba to dress anything close to this century, let alone a current fad. He took that back, it probably was the thief. Sure enough Hakuba walked in, an old classy white suit. Keyword being old, Hakuba and 'Conan' exchanged glances, then looked at the Kaito before them, then who was that? Nakamori took the initiative and started face pinching the teen. Who yelped and threatened to sue, so he probably wasn't Kid then... Poor Nakamori, he looked pissed.

* * *

Shinichi groaned, Kid was sure taking his sweet ass time with this one… Wait, is that? Oh sweet freedom it is, pink smoke! He smirked pulling up his collar, slowly guests dropped like flies to sleep. Ran and Sonoko among the first to Conan's happy surprise, he jumped off following after Nakamori Keibu to find out what all was going on.

Kid's POV

Kid smirked cheekily as the shrunken detective followed Nakamori Keibu. He darted back towards the sapphire in the main gazebo. Hakuba was still there, but that was easily rectified. *Kid checked over his hidden arsenal, (on the right side on his person he found… smoke bombs, dye, at least four decks of cards, handkerchiefs, red and white roses, pigeons, doves, tar, flour, and superglue. On the left… Silly string, high tension cable, confetti, flash bombs, clovers, wax molds, lock picks, Bobbie pins, face make up, latex masks, the card gun and spare ammo… In between in some interesting places: Tranquilizer gas, fake Bismarck sapphire, and his personal favorite, the walkie-talkie of doom.) twenty pockets and a sleeve later he found just the thing hiding in a small inner pocket.

Kid snuck out to behind the blonde and threw a combination 'distraction' bomb down with very happy results. Scants seconds later teenage detective Hakuba Saguru looked like he had fallen off the back of a circus wagon. His pristine light cream suit was now a curious shade of lime green, with bright cosmic orange spots to match his neon pink/fuchsia hair that looked like Hakuba had stuck his fingers in an electrical socket due to the charge from the smoke bomb. A large red rubber nose filled with sleeping gas, and little Hakuba was sawing logs in his new robin's egg blue shoes that matched his nose.

Kid borrowed Hakuba's cell and sent a photo to the Chibi detective and everyone else on the task force. He could almost picture the responses, he sent it also to Aoko and a few schoolmates as well as himself. Hopefully Hakuba didn't check his caller id photos before Kaito had a chance to call him off Nakamori's phone. He ducked into the main gazebo area and made quick work of blending in.

Shinichi/Conan's POV

Shinichi felt his phone vibrate and wonder who exactly would text him at a Kid heist. As he opened the message he stared in utter mortification for a moment, before the giggles erupted from his mouth at the sight. Nakamori didn't stop, but Shinichi could hear his text alert going off. As they rounded the corner the radio in Nakamori's coat was the next indication that Shinichi was not the only one to receive the picture. As it crackled to life there was a voice barely containing its laughter trying to get Nakamori's attention.

"Nakamori Keibu, have you check your phone messages yet?" the voice over the radio called. The mirth of the voice informed that they had indeed seen the message. Nakamori reached for his radio, shooting the shrunken detective a glare.

"No I have not, and unless it pertains to Kaitou Kid's current whereabouts I honestly don't care," Nakamori shouted over the radio in his normal booming tones. "FIND KID!" Shinichi tugged at the man's leg, earning another glare as he passed up his open mobile. Nakamori's face went several shades of red before he finally resulted in laughter. "Is that… Superintendent Hakuba's grandson?" Nakamori's booming laughter could be heard probably all the way to Osaka.

"Kid sent it using Hakuba san's phone," Shinichi said in his best Conan squeal. The officer handed Shinichi his phone back and doubled back towards the sapphire. "He wasn't far from the pavillion…"

"That photo still showed the sleep gas, Kid's at the sapphire!" Nakamori shouted into his radio. Shinichi choose that moment to veer at a different corner, resulting in him colliding with Hakuba's now unconscious form. The miniature detective fought the urge to laugh again as he climbed over the unfortunate bearer of pranks, it wasn't until he was completely over the other detective that he heard the scream.

As he met up with Nakamori he noticed one of Jirokichi's staff backing away slowly from Sonoko. Her face was pale, and Shinichi was almost worried the girl was dead until she let an apparently gratifying snore loose. There was a smirk on the blonde's face, she was still very much asleep though. Nakamori and Shinichi stared at the blonde maid for a moment, that was before Shinichi recognized it as one of Kid's earlier disguises.

"Something wrong Neesan?" Shinichi asked as the pale faced maid inched further away from Sonoko's table. She started shaking, and it was then that Shinichi realized this might not be Kid… Might.

"She's a fiiii- sea related creature spawned from the pits of hell!" the maid squeaked, ok… That might qualify as falsetto, but the tonality spoke fear like nothing else, "salmon over a bass, biased tuna leaking flounder headed sirens!" If Shinichi didn't know any better, he'd have sworn that was a string of swear words… "Holy schools of a catfish…" Oh, yeah that was a string of them, and Nakamori was taking just a bit too long to process them.

"Excuse me?" Nakamori Keibu must have thought she was on some sort of Kid induced hallucinogen, "are you alright Ojyosan?" The maid looked positively out of it, and much to Shinichi's amusement was obviously afraid of fish.

"Cover Suzuki san and she should become more coherent Keibu san," Shinichi instructed… As soon as Nakamori put a coat over Sonoko the hysteric maid calmed almost mysticly… "Are you alright now Neesan?"

Kid's POV

Kid couldn't control it, after the day he had that last costume was just too much. He froze and started into his own unique vocabulary of swearwords. While even spoken with the most vulgar of tones they could never really be as offensive as their actual in use cousins. He could almost feel Tantei kun's unease at the sight of him acting this way, then again nothing ever seemed to get to him so perhaps this was only fair…

He had of course finished up his disguise before glancing over the surrounding area, but boy had that been a mistake…. Tantei Kun's girlfriend was looking especially fine tonight, but her friend had of course picked some sea spawned creature from Kid's own personal hell. He thankfully had Tantei Kun's reasoning to thank for his now rebounding logic, he needed to get the sapphire and get out of there.

Nakamori was of course present now thanks to his idiot blunder, but no matter. He had shown such a fear that no one seemed to think he was in disguise, he almost wanted to thank the Suzuki heir. Still he was caught in a spot, he was in between the two detectives he dealt with the most. Therefore they had the best of idea what he would pull, except he had a slight advantage.

Neither detective suspected to check his identity yet, that was all he needed.

Shinichi's POV

Shinichi watched the maid calm down, and he decided that it was probably not Kid based on two facts. First of all, he had no idea if Kid actually did have any fear of fish. Secondly, that scream had been way past falsetto, it was an ear bleeder. He wasn't sure that even Kid had that vocal range without assistance from some outside object… Shinichi settled for checking over the sapphire and leaving Nakamori to check the maid's identity.

As he reached the case he heard the soft thud and realized with a very startled reaction that one should never leave Nakamori to do anything Kid related. A new cloud of pink smoke was obscuring the area, pouring out from devices under the tables. Nakamori frowned and made a grab for the maid only to come up short. Shinichi rolled out of the way as one of Kid's playing cards shot past his glasses.

The thief was cloaked in black today, but it was definitely Kid. Dressed as… Tuxedo Mask? Shinichi face palmed, how very… creative? of the phantom thief to dress up as well. Shinichi dodged the next card as he and Kid circled around the tables full of unconscious guests. Which Nakamori had just joined after the second puff of gas. Shinichi had the stinky ascot of his Sherlock Holmes costume over his nose and mouth.

Kid was smirking wildly, he picked the lock around the sapphire case in mere seconds. Then Jirokichi's traps started, Kid frowned these were not what he had in mind for traps. Several spotlights went straight on him, blinding the thief long enough for Shinichi to make his way over to the thief. Kid jumped back, necklace in hand, the spotlights following him. Kid ran, checking over the necklace for the tracer on it, sure enough clipped onto the end was a little device focusing the—Kid tripped, well fell into the next trap.

Giant pits had been set up across the ground (*think classic team Rocket pits from Pokemon*) and Kid had fallen straight into one of them. Shinichi stood standing for a second in shock, because all he had seen was Kid disappear. He ran forward very nearly landing himself in the same strategically placed ditch. When he looked down and saw the thief crumpled he burst out laughing, deciding perhaps Hakuba would like revenge.

Kid vaguely cringed as he heard the phone speak, "Say cheese." The thief didn't stay down long, a couple of minutes later the chase resumed, Shinichi laughing hysterically as they ran.


	12. PART TWELVE- WHAT SHE KNOWS

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As you should know if you got this far, I do not own anything related to detective conan. I'm feeling rather uncreative with this part today, so I'll leave you with the update instead. This chapter is the conclusion of the Kaitou Kid Heist, and some of Ran's feelings...

* * *

The chase around Jirokichi Suzuki's estate was one the closest thing to a marathon that Shinichi had ever done as Conan, well besides his random tailings of criminals that he honestly couldn't remember an hour later… Kid was sprinting, 'Conan's' short legs were having one hell of a time trying to keep up, and the Sherlock Holmes outfit was chaffing in some rather unmentionable places. He followed Kid none the less, trying not to trip into any of the vast and many pits that had suddenly appeared.

Kid was working his way towards the highest point on the property, possibly to glide away with his loot. Not that Shinichi was going to let that happen anytime soon if he could help it, he did however wish he had his solar powered skateboard. As Kid grappled up the side Jirokichi's manor Shinichi let a soccer ball fly, missing the thief only because he decided to spider man style the rest of the way up!

The chase was done, Kid made towards the other side of the roof Shinichi kicked at the ground. He was disappointed that it hadn't lasted longer, but it was probably better he didn't get hurt before visiting Haibara. He begrudgingly made his way back to Ran and Sonoko, Nakamori keibu had already started to rouse from the sleeping gas. Shouting angrily into his radio, the mini detective cringed as the man made a bee line for him.

"Which direction was he going?" Nakamori asked him impatiently. It took Shinichi a moment to realize the man was actually asking him, not some of the police men appearing from their positions. He pointed towards Jirokichi's manor, and explained the pit traps. Nakamori keibu let out a string of words that if Shinichi had been a child should not have repeated.

Ran was frowning behind him now, Shinichi finally remembered who she was dressed as. It was that princess… the one from Vespania, now Queen Mira. It was quite a fitting costume considering the Queen was her direct double. Ran of course looked beautiful, and with her hand sitting on his shoulder currently he felt like the small mischievous prince. He frowned, was he really that troublesome?

"Come on Conan kun, let's go home," Ran guided him back towards Sonoko who let out a giant yawn as their ride pulled up. Sonoko of course was disappointed that she yet again didn't really get to see Kid, and Shinichi was trying to hold in the laughter. He wasn't about to tell Sonoko that she was the one who nearly gave away Kid's costume. Which brought Shinichi to another set of thoughts, why had Kid screamed quite that high or terrified?

Ran's POV (PS I feel really bad for Ran, I mean really bad for her…)

Conan looked awfully amused there, just what was running through his oversized head? Ran decided not to ask seeing the subtle expression change from mirth to curiosity. Whatever it was had passed, and she assumed if it was worth telling she would hear about it later. That led her back towards her own thoughts as her friend continued to announce every few seconds how very disappointed she was that she hadn't seen Kid.

These thoughts included part of the discussion about what Kid really looked like, while Kid may look like her missing detective, he acted nothing like her detective freak. The more Ran thought about Kid being Shinichi, the more confused she had become at first, then angry at the fact of what he was doing, then heartbroken because she knew he had to have come across her detective in order to portray him so well. She knew something was wrong with her Shinichi, but she knew he was alive. There were things that only she and Shinichi should know that he spoke of to her.

She would however keep her composure until Conan had gone to sleep for the night; then she would break down and cry herself to sleep. Shinichi hadn't even called in almost two months, even if Conan was always reassuring her that Shinichi was fine… If he wasn't in trouble why was it so hard for him to call her? Or perhaps stop by and see her to stop her worrying?

Therein began the next set of thoughts that ran on forever. What was Conan hiding that he refused to burden her with? She could almost swear he was a mini Shinichi, then all of the sudden some random, obscure fact would prove he wasn't Shinichi. The thing that really urked her was whenever Shinichi, seeing as they were typically either Kid or strangely enough Hattori Heiji, Conan always knew it wasn't Shinichi.

The three times in a million that Kid had dressed as Shinichi, Conan knew the second that he appeared. For Ran, it always took a strange action on Kid's part to break that illusion. What Ran wanted to know was how—just how Conan always knew! Without fail every time! Conan must have either Shinichi radar or Kid radar; hell, it could even be both. She was distracted further by the small gloved hand waving in front of her face.

"Ran, Ran! Oii Ran! Mou…" Sonoko was speaking to her worriedly.

"Something wrong, Ran neechan?" Conan's eyes looked at her filled with uncertainly, "Ran neechan, Ran neechan?" Ran shook her head, trying to clear her head long enough to focus on the present for a little while longer.

"Nandemonai, I'm fine Conan kun," she smiled softly at the two of them, "are looking forward to seeing Ai chan tomorrow?" Conan's expression didn't change for a second, Ran almost considered asking him to stay home. She felt uneasy about the whole thing…

"Mataku, don't stare off into space like that, you scared us!" Sonoko looked away, trying to decide whether she continue on her Kid rant or comfort Ran. Sonoko was funny like that, she could read her easily enough at times. Ran wondered why Sonoko understood her better than Shinichi did, Sonoko wasn't the brightest cookie after all.

"Gomen nasai Sonoko," Ran whispered, "Conan kun, it's rude to stare like that." Conan turned away a light pink from being scolded. Like the day she had found him with the liquor, that had in fact been rather odd in itself…

"Gomen ne Ran neechan," Conan spent the rest of the trip averting his gaze out the window. Ran might have been worried, but both of them were plain wore out from the Kaitou Kid heist. Conan probably would hardly make it to his futon with his eyes open, maybe she wouldn't have to cry herself to sleep tonight. She could feel sweet oblivion waiting for her to close her eyes. No that would be tomorrow when all the idiot detectives in her life were giving her a much needed break.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~Your current author should never watch the Conan vs Kid vs Yaiba special while typing sad things. Look up the part about juugoro, and you'll see that it does not fit at all with her plot line. It made her laugh like a moron for a couple of minutes… Its in the second segment on youtube. video id= lS8ud9BXygg ~
> 
> Anyways, the next part should be the trip to see Gin, Vodka, and Haibara. So I'll see you there next!
> 
> I suppose since I mentioned Heiji he'll have to come visit or Conan will have to go to him... My second nightmare, although... that should be a lot easier... Well at least this story tries to write itself.
> 
> Drop me a comment should you feel so inclined, if you are looking for more of this story you would be able to find it on my ff.net account. story id s/5737621/1


	13. PART THIRTEEN- OVER THE HILLS

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> .

Shinichi was out of the agency before Ran had even started breakfast on Thursday, he hadn't picked up the location note yet from Kudou Manor. He already knew that he would likely be picked up after or during kiddy school. Haibara had called him yesterday afternoon to discuss Kid's latest plunder, or would blunder be a better term? He was still wondering why and how Kid had screamed, that and if it was some sort of plan to distract them.

He smirked looking over the picture he held in his phone of the one and only Kaitou Kid face first in a dirt pit. Kid did in fact know about the picture, and had tried to get Shinichi to delete it after a long forum chat. Shinichi simply replied that he had already sent it to a few people, the same with the picture of Hakuba. Kid dropped the subject with a giant LOL at the end of his message.

When he finally looked over the notice it informed that Vermouth would be picking him up at dressed as Fumiyo Edogawa. Seeing as the woman knew his mother well, it was a quick phone call to explain the situation and get the needed information from Yukiko Kudou. Although knowing his mother if she had called Sharon/Chris (aka Vermouth) to ask the conversation would probably have been quite a few hours long.

Shinichi cringed when the final bell rang, he hadn't imagined the day would go that fast. He didn't even realize the Shonen Tantei were already all over the strange woman outside waiting for him. He tried his best to shoo them away, but being the persistent children they were they wanted to know who was picking him up instead of Ran neesan. Vermouth for her part seemed to be enjoying the attention.

"If you must know, this is my mother," Conan's voice announced in a very dry tone, "Okaasan, are sure everything is ready?" He asked much more cooperative. Vermouth smiled under Fumiyo's plump rosy cheeks.

"Yes sweetie, everything is ready to go. Say goodbye to your little friends," Vermouth had the tone down just right, "if we don't leave now we'll hit some miserable traffic." Shinichi nodded, and was somewhat disappointed when the Shonen Tantei disappeared so easily. Well maybe Vermouth scared them away the same way she scared Haibara. Although they didn't always have the best common sense, after all how many murderers had those kids chased after?

Well they were following him, but that was beside the point. Vermouth steered him towards a non-descript car nearby, and he kept a close eye out for the Shonen Tantei. This was one thing he didn't want them to follow them into, the lair of the Black Org. Shinichi watched in vague uneasiness for the trio of trouble-making kids.

"So how is Haibara?" Shinichi asked the master of disguise. 'Fumiyo's' expression wavered for the barest of seconds between amused (evil smirk) to cautious.

"Sherry, is doing fine. She's been hard at work on her old research again. Surprisingly, Gin has been able to help her," Vermouth replied softly unlocking a door for Shinichi, "I was unaware that he had a background in chemistry. Although, with the nature of his assignments, I guess I really shouldn't be surprised…." Shinichi nodded, glancing around to check for the Shonen Tantei.

"Just a second mother, I need to check something," Shinichi grabbed his detective badge. He pressed a button that Agasa Hakase had recently added, the page button. It let out a loud ring, three more rings sounded not far behind him. "Mitsuhiko, Genta, Ayumi… I would appreciate it if you don't stalk me when I'm going with my mom for the weekend." The three mischievous children appeared from behind the car. Vermouth looked pleased with him, she hadn't considered that the other three would trail him.

"I'm sorry children, but I can't let you come along," Fumiyo's tones answered softly, "it's a family trip." Ayumi looked downcast, but Genta and Mitsuhiko looked almost pleased. Shinichi shut the door and smiled a fake Conan smile.

"It's okay, Hakase had a new Yaiba game for you to play while I'm away." Shinichi lied effortlessly, well maybe not lied seeing as the professor had worked something up for them, "Have fun." He shut the door and waited for Vermouth to start the car, the agent turned over the engine with a dull roar. The Shonen Tantei waved and made a beeline for Agasa Hakase's house. Shinichi tried to relax in his seat, but there was one last problem, he was way too wound up about the soon to occur meeting.

"Where was I? Oh yes, Gin is surprisingly adept with chemistry. Not only with chemical chemistry, but organic chemistry as well, the chemical one is at least not as surprising…" Vermouth revved the engine, "but I was shocked the other day when I wandered in there and Gin was in the middle of explaining something to Sherry in geek speak. Vodka was bewildered as well…"

"A bio-chemist, that guy? That's surprising, taking into account the explosive trail that follows after him I'm not shocked by the chemistry background. I wonder how extensive his biological knowledge is…." Shinichi wondered. He checked that his seat belt was in tight when Vermouth started mirroring Yukiko's driving, "honestly, can't any of you actress types drive like a normal being? You're as bad as my mother." Shinichi was now gripping his seat with white knuckles. Vermouth chuckled but watched the road rather than the colors flooding across Shinichi's face.

"I have no idea Cool Guy, but I do know that his organic chemistry knowledge rivals Sherry's own. That's upper level, maybe even university level comprehension of organics," Vermouth answered as she made a hard right turn, "I wonder what his use for that is…" Shinichi was now gripping the door handle for dear life.

"Could you please slow down a bit now?" Shinichi asked in a small deadpan voice, the actress cackled in response. "He probably uses it for bio terrorism; it would be fatal to anyone uneducated in it. It also would take someone of the utmost knowledge to poison someone with an unstable chemical without poisoning one's self." Shinichi nearly head butted the dashboard when Vermouth jammed a foot on the break with a cheery expression. She ripped off the Fumiyo wig and mask, then unbuckled her seat belt the creepy smile making Shinichi shiver.

"We're here," she said locking eyes with Shinichi for a moment, "Sherry's waiting for you in 21 b on the second floor. I'm afraid I can't stay. I overstayed my welcome last time, and Gin started loading a tranquilizer gun with something he and Sherry were working on." Shinichi smiled, nodding in comprehension. Vermouth was in trouble with the blond. It was something that didn't really surprise Shinichi as he stepped out of the car and looked up at apartment.

It was an unassuming apartment, nothing that would have normally triggered any nerves. He took the stairwell up to the second floor, looking for some sort of sign for which direction he should be going to find 21 b. He instead found himself in front a door labeled 16 b, since there was no sign he walked to the right to find the next door. Sure enough it was 17 b, and four doors later he found 21 b. As he knocked on the door, he wondered who would answer the door. When the door finally opened he found himself staring at a very narrow set of blue eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: We get to see Gin and Haibara next, yay! No more transitions, for a while anyways, thank you for being patient with me!


	14. PART FOURTEEN- FAR AWAY

The cold eyes looking at him from behind the threshold held his attention for a moment, then he noticed the blond strands draped over a nearby chair. Shinichi looked around the apartment, it didn't look like the headquarters to some big bad organization he had ever seen. He must have voiced this aloud because Haibara chuckled for a second.

"Of course not, we didn't want to chance you being anywhere near there," Ai responded dryly, "might wander off under the notion of going to the 'toilet' like all those times on the Mouris. Have you done anything overly stupid since the last time I saw you Kudou kun, such as smoking, drinking, or medications of any sort?" She asked closing the door behind him. He frowned at her, didn't she know how his mind worked by now?

"Of course not, not so much as an antihistamine Haibara," he answered shortly as he removed his shoes, "It's hard to get into too much trouble when the only difficult things are limited to a certain kleptomaniac's heists." Shinichi looked back at the chibi scientist with a reserved look, he knew she was asking for the sake of the antidote. It was still insulting to be asked such things, although he would admit he deserved the drinking one at the very least.

"Interesting, so the only factors really are on how fast his body processes the antidote. Are you sure that the formula you gave me is the entire make up of the drug Sherry," the blond spoke, then there was the ruffling of papers. Haibara made her way towards the couch and signaled for Shinichi to follow.

"Yes I'm sure, I did write every page by hand and go over every page several times," Haibara gave Gin a rather pointed stare, "Kudou kun, if you would remove your jacket. I need to take your vitals to establish a normal. Considering there isn't a medically relevant normal for our condition, it is vital to have all of the established data to compare to when the antidote is in effect. I all need you to collect all of my data from Hakase's." Shinichi nodded, it was unwise to refuse Haibara of anything. Even if you felt like a human lab rat in the process of complying, it was always better than the alternative.

"I'll get your records after I return then," Shinichi rolled up his sleeve, "Vermouth said that she had done something to piss you off. May I ask what?" Gin looked up from the papers he was looking over, he had the same murderous scowl as the first time.

"She talks too much," Haibara answered, "Gin wasn't the only one that threatened her. I threatened to shoot her as well, only she believed Gin would shoot her first after the last comment she made." Gin placed the papers down on the coffee table, and pulled out a cigarette. He did not light it however, he merely put it between his lips.

"Had she followed you I might have had to shoot her," Gin chewed on the end of the cigarette, "when you're finished with him start those proteins we discussed Sherry. I will be back later, so have that done as well so I can look at it." Shinichi looked at the blond, he wasn't wearing the bulky trench only the jade turtleneck. When he realized he was staring, Shinichi blushed and turned away. The assassin either did not notice, or did not care that he was being checked out by a grade-schooler. Shinichi on the other hand was mortified, what on earth had possessed him to do that?

Worse yet, as the man stood up Shinichi's attention was back on the blond, and how absolutely striking the man looked despite the fear that the man instilled in every single living being… Yet, Shinichi was fascinated for some unexplainable reason with the man, enough that he would stare. Gin, for being such a tall lanky man was unnervingly graceful, the slight flutter almost unnoticeable under the turtleneck. Donning his trademark fedora and trench, he left the two chibi teens alone.

As the assassin made his way out he couldn't help but think that he missed something... Something vaguely important that he should have noticed, he shrugged it off, if it was that important he would remember it later. He had an assignment and some assessments to take care of. He had dealt with his obligations first, then he would attempt to figure it out.

He let the trench coat billow out, he still had to place his shoulder holster on. He couldn't have his pistol discharging while he was in the middle of an experiment. He also couldn't have the fumes rendering the gunpowder useless either. So it was locked up in his glove box, in the Porsche.

He turned the corner making his way towards the secluded parking space where his car sat. He fished the keys out of his pocket, unlocking the door with practiced ease. He withdrew the pistol and shoulder harness from the glove box, slipping the one on easily.

He took the pistol apart in seconds, checking all of the functions and mechanics over. Satisfied with the weapon he oiled it down as he replaced the pieces together. He slid the clip in with a soft click, and flipped the safety on as he slipped it into the shoulder harness. He pulled his trench coat tight, careful not to leave a bulge where the pistol lay against his ribs.

Insert murder scene, blackmail operation, and one cheap shot later our favorite assassin is on his merry blood littered way.

As the blond made his way back to where he had left Sherry, it dawned on him. The shrunken detective still had all of his weapons! The blond frowned, he would fix that problem soon enough.

"Did you have to be so obvious Kudou kun?" Haibara's words stunned the poor detective, "Don't worry, I don't think Gin even realized it… Vermouth would have caught it, but Gin however isn't interested in anything beside murder and chemistry. I never would have thought he would have such an extensive knowledge of chemistry…" Shinichi who had been a nice rosy shade until that last comment, Vermouth had been saying something similar.

"How extensive is his knowledge Haibara? Vermouth mentioned something about geek speak as well," Shinichi watched the look on the small scientist's face turn absolutely frigid. He wondered what blunder of words he did this time. He almost considered running after the assassin, he was probably safer than Haibara if he said something…

"I suggest you stop talking before I you dig yourself a grave Kudou kun," she had the blood pressure measuring device on his arm. Shinichi almost flinched as she adjusted the Velcro on it, her eyes could probably stop Kid dead in his tracks. "his knowledge in chemistry rivals, maybe even surpasses my own knowledge in collective chemistry… However he knows a great deal more than most about bio-chem. Possibly to make his assassinations more effective, except in your case of course." Shinichi could see his fingers changing colors, but thought better than to interrupt her right now.

She released his arm from the device after a few extra seconds, writing something down on a chart that Shinichi had finally noticed sitting next to her. He glanced around the room looking for some sort of identity to it, after all it was an apartment, and the furnishings generally reflected the person who lived there. This place Shinichi decided… housed someone who envied function, but had no sense of decoration.

"Where are we?" Shinichi finally decided on asking the miffed scientist. She pulled out a needle, and before he was done blinking it was in. Haibara was scarily proficient at that, although she was basically his doctor.

"I don't know," the answer was almost sullen, "Gin and Vodka brought my equipment over, as well as myself. I didn't bother to ask, I can't leave this place without one of them with me Kudou." Shinichi cringed, she had mentioned something like this to him prior. It reminded him heavily of the events leading up to Akemi Miyano's death. Haibara was a prisoner of the Black Org… So what did that make him?

Shinichi sat in silence for the most part as Haibara gathered the required data, his thoughts started to roam as she finished up. She hopped off the couch leaving him alone in the dreary space. His mind kept coming back to the same details, he was subconsciously adding the blond into his life. Like at the heist! He had wondered what the assassin would have dressed up as, then there was at kiddie school where he wondered where the man had learned to shoot.

While none of these thoughts up until his arrival had been unreasonable, the fact remained that here he was even pondering the blond let alone staring at him. He'd never stared at anything without a motive going through his head until today. Hell, he hadn't even noticed he was staring for a couple of minutes there. Shinichi looked down at his shrunken hands wondering what he had ever done to deserve this new onslaught of unfamiliar emotions.

The answer while not foreign, was not the one he expected his logical mind to take, he was slowly slipping into emotions over the man who changed his life forever. Shinichi had even begun to rationalize the man's motives, and he had barely spoken to him. He didn't even hear Haibara walk back in the room with an iv tree while he was thinking about it.

"Stop trying to understand it Kudou kun," Haibara stated as she hooked up what Shinichi was going to assume was the protein booster. Not until after Shinichi had almost launched himself over the couch in surprise of course. "You'll break your brain trying to rationalize it. You should get some sleep, you'll need it for tomorrow." Shinichi didn't think he had a choice in the matter, what Haibara prescribed one did. Otherwise the effect was accomplished through either manipulation or needles.

He managed to miss the semi warm smile that she shot at him as he laid out across the couch. He did however get the impression he was forgiven, even if it was only by the smallest fraction, when she covered him with blankets for the night.


	15. PART FIFTEEN- VATER UNSER

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As you should know if you got this far, I do not own anything related to detective conan. Nor do I own the random idioms, people, or items used in the making of this fic. No money is made off this, and no insults to the TSA, but they certainly need a better system.

PART FIFTEEN- VATER UNSER

As the blond came in fully irritated with the back he had forgotten to take the shrunken detective's hidden weapons and other devices he stopped dead in his tracks at the sight before him. Gin couldn't see Sherry in the immediate vicinity, but straight ahead on the couch, wrapped up in an oversized blanket, was the detective he had been so concentrated in disarming. He stopped in the entrance way and stared. He honestly wasn't sure how to proceed from here. He had wanted the kid asleep, but…

"You're certainly back early," Sherry's small voice stated as she exited the bedroom. She had surprised him, but not enough to get a flinch out of him. "Kudou fell asleep a couple of hours ago. He is on the proteins, as we discussed earlier." She paused a moment, "Or was some other reason you've stopped dead, no pun intended, at the door?"

Gin shot a glare at the chibi-scientist as he removed his coat and shoes. His pistol however, remained securely attached to his person. He crossed over the threshold and across to the couch in a short few strides. He then realized he had no idea what he was looking for. He turned to the chibi-scientist for a moment with a scowl.

"Did you remember to disarm the fox?" Gin asked after a moment. Sherry shook her head, and truth be told Gin wasn't sure she would think to do so after so much time with the shrunken detective. "Then where would the items of interest be? Sherry!" Sherry had turned away as he was posing this question, and was making her way towards the front door. She scowled right back at him, crossing her arms.

"Sorry, I didn't realize you needed help in disarming someone," Sherry retorted, "Kudou kun carries an array of items with him. The most important ones are his watch and his shoes, I'd snag his glasses and his suspenders as well. Also there should be a badge in his pants somewhere with a detective on it, I'd take that as well." Gin raised an eyebrow, these all seemed semi normal to him, but if Sherry was mentioning it there had to be some reason. "There's also an earring cell phone in addition to his cell, if he even bothered to bring it." Gin rolled his eyes, so that was it.

"Shoes, watch, glasses, suspenders, badge, earring cell phone, cell phone," Gin repeated. He approached the sleeping detective wearily… He had patted down men before, but this was just ridiculous! The shrunken detective barely reached his waist, and here he was getting ready to search the brat while he was out cold pretty much. Something about this just made him… uneasy.

"Get his watch first," she warned. Gin slowly tugged the blanket down and away looking for the watch. It glared up at him from the detective's left wrist, he cautiously lifted up that arm and unlatched the heavy time telling device. He wondered what was so dangerous about a watch, he set it aside with an air of caution. The next thing he would look for was the glasses, surely those couldn't be too hard to find…

The chibi scientist made her way to the kitchen as Gin proceeded in his search, and that most likely meant there was nothing lethal amongst the remaining devices. He patted down the boy's arms, upper chest, and then back. No glasses… He started checking his stomach and waist, no glasses still… Ah, there was the cell phone earring… What was this? He looked at the little badge he had just pulled out of the shrunken detective's pocket.

"A radio badge?" Gin was now amused, where did this shrunken detective get these interesting devices? He set the badge aside and moved to disconnect the suspenders he had just found hanging at his sides, where Sherry had probably left them. As his fingers brushed over the clips he thought that they felt odd… He wondered what the dual purpose of this item was…. Never mind that… where the hell were those stupid glasses?

"Watch out for his belt," Sherry called absentmindedly. Gin almost tilted his head at that, what harm could possibly come from a belt? As he set the suspenders aside he decided that the belt should probably go next. He hit what he assumed was the release button, the blond was in for the shock of his life…

Shinichi only stirred after he felt someone yanking on his belt and long fingers brushing against his stomach in a flurry of movement. He vaguely realized that the insta-football belt had been activated, and pressed the release switch. The next thing he knew there was a football whizzing around the room, someone nearby him was cussing something fierce. Shinichi's head however refused to comply and provide a face to go with the irritated voice.

"YOU! WHY DIDN'T YOU WARN ME?" the irritated voice now had blond hair to go with it. Shinchi willed his eyes to clear and reveal the person's identity whose hands happened to be wrapped around his belt. He felt the tugging, and despite every warning his mind was sending, his hands undid the clasp the other hands were fiddling with. The other hands took the belt and backed away.

His dreams where somewhere between nightmarish and Technicolor horror, he was running from blurs. Then as he was running he'd shrink, shrink from his highschooler size into Conan sized. His lungs would burn, as his legs no longer had the endurance he had trained to have. From there he would shrink again, to where he was a small he could only crawl. His legs were not strong enough to support him upright.

His small eyes swirled around as he started hearing rapid bursts of gunfire, making a horrid putrid mist of death. Shinichi screamed, but his voice came out as a mere child's wailing. Then the pains of shrinking started up again. He had shrunk into nothingness…

Haibara watched Shinichi struggle with his blankets in minor concern, it wasn't unheard of for the boy to have nightmares. She was more concerned about what the blond was going to do when he realized that he had just given a TSA* worthy pat-down to the stature equivalent of a seven year old. Although, he was probably more preoccupied with how he just got hit, square in the forehead, by a football.

She poured herself a cup of coffee, and wondered if she could get Vodka to bring some popcorn for the second round. If nothing else Vermouth might as a piece offering, along with some chocolate… Gin was still trying to find something in the list she had given him, luckily Shinichi had woken up long enough to disarm the belt before it got out of hand.

She smiled into her coffee, Gin certainly was more naïve in that area then she remembered. Although she was fairly certain he was no virgin, he was too proud for any of them to know for sure, but she suspected the blond wasn't. With which side or who, she had no idea, but Haibara suspected it wasn't an organization member.

When he finally gave up and joined her at the counter she nearly started snickering. Blond hair was going every possible direction, a nice little red spot above his eyes. He sat on the stool eyeing her coffee for a moment, before fixing his hair.

"Next time you're disarming that fox," the blond growled. Haibara sipped her coffee again, resisting the urge to smirk at the blond. Shinichi certainly had his work cut out for him…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMAKES
> 
> Haibara's earlier statement first draft: "He is on the proteins like we discussed earlier, or was there some other reason you've stopped at the front door like a zombie ready to eat brains?"
> 
> He then realized he had no idea what said devices were, inwardly he was scratching the side of his head like a lanky monkey. Outwardly, he was scowling.
> 
> The next thing he would look for was the glasses, surely those couldn't be too hard to find… (Which are in his blazer draped over the arm of the chair…)
> 
> "A radio badge?" Gin was now amused, where did this fox get his toys?
> 
> As his fingers brushed over the clips he thought that they felt odd… He wondered what the dual purpose of this item was…. (Bondage?)
> 
> TSA*- if you are not from the United States you may be unfamiliar with this term. The TSA are those people in US Airports that search people for weapons, bombs, etc. Recently there have been reports of strip searches at the Airports, with have even resulted in at least one popped catheter. There's a lot of upset Americans, this author is not one of them, my mother however gets searched every time. That may however be because she brought a stainless steel butter knife on a plane, they let her seeing as she had the peanut butter and jelly along with the bread…. back in like 1995, 1996.
> 
> Hittocere: If you don't believe me about the TSA, here's the video id on youtube for your cringes v=K53BnSs-3Kg. BTW This is in no way the actual theme song, another prime example is v=KucnZVKZfKQ about a singer's experience. Blame my oniisan on the idea (v=2Qdb6wC0Iz4&N), he found them a couple months ago and was playing one of them for Christmas.


	16. PART SIXTEEN- MISSIN' THE WORLD

When Shinichi awoke that morning he was shocked at how good he felt, considering he had fallen asleep on an old couch. It took a couple of seconds for his eyes to adjust, he could just pick up the smell of coffee coming from the kitchen. A smile stretched itself across his face, what he wouldn't do for a cup of coffee…

"Don't even think about it Kudou kun," Haibara's voice started. He inwardly cursed, if he had to give up coffee to regular sized again, he wasn't sure he could do it. Yes, he could give up a lot of things, but coffee was his saving grace! "Not while we're testing the antidote, you can have your coffee fix when you go home."

"You say that like I'm a junkie or something," Shinichi yawned, when he stood up he was very surprised when his pants started to slide towards the ground. He wondered how that was possible considering he was wearing a— His eyes bugged out as he looked up to see the amused expression on her face. "Please tell me I removed it… please?" She just shook her head with a small shark toothed grin. He just had to have this sort of luck, didn't he?

"You unbuckled the thing, if it makes you feel any better," she sipped the alluring substance, its heavenly scent was wafting his direction. He would be strong, he would not give in to his old ally, he kept chanting as he held his pants as he made his way to a barstool. A vague pain was going up his arm, he ignored it in favor of staring at Haibara's cup.

"Not really," Shinichi mumbled. Damn her and her coffee, maybe he should go back to sleep… "Do you have anything that I can have before your tests?" She raised an eyebrow, then looked down at his forearm. He then noticed the small red spot that was growing there.

"Is there a reason you felt the need to pull your IV line out?" she finally asked pulling out a napkin. "I'm trying a new theory on how to make the change less painful baka." Shinichi finally registered that maybe there was a reason his arm was hurting, wait… He scrunched up his nose as he looked at the red spot on his shirt, blood.

"What did you give me? I'm disoriented," Shinichi pointed a short stubby finger at Haibara, he blinked and it was back to Conan sized, "and apparently I'm having delusions… What the hell did you give me, reefer?" Haibara took her damned coffee with her as she went back towards the couch. She came back as Shinichi started trying to figure out which rainbows were more distorted.

"Possibly, it was Vermouth. May I have you arm please?" Haibara was holding his IV needle, "By the way if you manage to pull this out again I will duct tape it to your arm." She threatened before asking, "How bad are the delusions?" Haibara reestablished the IV line and soon had a flashlight waving between his eyes. "Follow the light," she ordered. "Slight dilation of the iris, you're not too high to proceed. I wonder how if this will affect the antidote…" Haibara set the flashlight down, and adjusted a switch on the side of the IV bag.

"Wait until it's out of his system," Gin suddenly interrupted, "when exactly did Vermouth sneak in Sherry?" the blond assassin stalked past Shinichi in a blur of black.

Shinichi was suddenly hit by a memory, a flash of fingers brushing against his stomach. His stomach started to roll, Shinichi covered his mouth with one hand, and quickly hooked his other arm around the IV tree and bringing his hand back to his waistline before his uber loose pants could fall. He made for the sink, and proceeded to empty the contents of his stomach.

"She has a key if you remember, and you gave it to her," Haibara replied. Shinichi was too busy trying not to think about what he was seeing behind his eyelids as his stomach emptied. The reefer, or whatever it had really been, must have been playing tricks on him— or was that blond hair in those memories? The fingertips weren't light like he would expect Vermouth's to be, they were long and slightly callused. They had also tickled, and Shinichi was bestowed with the recollection of black and white zooming off towards blond.

"What the hell have you done?" Shinichi groaned into the kitchen sink.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Haibara looked over to Shinichi, then back at Gin who was scowling. He also twitched his fingers, as if he was reaching for his gun. When he discovered it was of course not there a different idea popped into his head. He pinned the shrunken detective to the sink much to Haibara's surprise.

"What are you talking about fox?" Gin whispered into the mini detective's ear. Haibara whom was watching this entire thing with a mixture of horror and pleasant surprise. She still wasn't sure if Kudou Shinichi could handle the blond. Although it seemed like Gin had accepted the detective though, even if he probably didn't realize it himself.

"Why," Kudou was mumbling into the sink. That was when she chose to interrupt, loudly clearing her throat to catch their attention.

"Excuse me, but we do have some tests to run if you're finished messing around Kudou kun," Haibara replied with a small smirk. Gin kept him pinned there for a moment or so more before reclaiming his previous space next to Haibara.

"Wait until whatever it is Vermouth gave him is flushed out of his system," Gin repeated, "I'm going out, Vodka should be by later on," Gin poured out whatever his cup had contained in front of the flustered detective. He shot Kudou a dirty look before turning back to Haibara, "That Person is not pleased with me. I may return late or tomorrow depending on how things go." She nodded, That Person* was hard to win over once something was brought in against you. Gin however, was a senior member and could handle his own problems.

"I'll take care of it, try to come back uninjured this time," Haibara mentioned as he tugged on his coat. "While you may not care, there was blood in the bathroom. It's none of my business, but don't think of me as stupid." He nodded disappearing out the front door without another word.

"What have you done?" Shinichi croaked again from the sink. She watched as he slowly turned around, his face a bright cherry color. "Don't ever let her use that on me again! I almost-" he slapped a hand over his mouth, then dropped his gaze to the floor as even his ears went red.

"You almost what? Made a mistake Kudou?" then the thought occurred to her. She glanced down and sure enough his boxers were tented, she resisted the urge to roll her eyes. 'Kudou Shinichi sure had strange tastes' was the only she could think at the moment.

"Please tell me that this is some sort of side effect to whatever it is Vermouth gave me," the shrunken detective pleaded, he certainly did look mortified, "please tell me this isn't really…" She wanted so badly to laugh until she cried, but it wasn't in her nature.

"Kudou kun, I have no idea what exactly spawned that," she answered pointedly, "you can however go rectify the situation and find your own answer in the shower. When you are done you should have cleared enough of the drug she gave you to try the antidote." Kudou nodded, this was one hell of a way to start a day. "Let me remove that IV for you." She had long since realized that while parts of the detective's mind were working in overdrive, other pieces like common sense weren't fully functioning. If she hadn't watched him almost drag the IV tree behind him she wouldn't have remembered the thing either.

After the shower Shinichi was beyond mortified to have his suspicions confirmed, but there was no way in hell he was telling Haibara the result. He found a clean robe around his size waiting for him next to the towels, it was certainly soft. He saw what Haibara had vaguely mentioned earlier, one of the sink handles had blood on it, and the medial cabinet was slightly ajar. He walked back out into the bedroom and found an array of medical devices.

"Done already? That's good, I'd swap to this robe though. I wouldn't want to see you stuffed in that in your teen sized body," Haibara tossed him a hospital gown that was going to look like a full length dress on his currently Conan sized body. None the less he took her suggestion and switched, the sooner he had taken the antidote the sooner he could call Ran.

"Now what?" he asked following her instructions to get on the bed. He leaned over as she reinserted the IV line for the second time that day. He certainly would be overjoyed when she stopped using him as a pin cushion. He watched her check her notes and the clock.

"Take this at noon exactly, and I'll even set you a timer Kudou kun. Until then, I suggest you stop trying to rationalize everything about your situation," Haibara looked over her clipboard at him, "and start figuring out how to get rid of Edogawa Conan without being branded either a murderer yourself, or a long standing patient in a psych ward."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That Person* or Anokata. They never truly give us a name during the series for the Black Org.'s leader, but it is commonly known that Vermouth is a favorite of that person.
> 
> Hittocere: We're back to Gin in the next chapter and his meeting with Anokata does not go well.


	17. PART SEVENTEEN- LOOK AT THIS THE SAME

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Apparently this author 'tis an idiot. She almost lost the hidden folder containing this... Gomen yo. Thank goodness for hidden folder finders on the web. Sorry for the wait, here you go, and my dog is trying to find Gin to shoot me so he can go to sleep. Gotta run!

Gin sat in his car, figuratively licking his wounds. He was only playing the spotter today. The blond wished his arm felt better, if only so he could snipe the bastard himself and go. Chianti sure was taking her sweet ass time. He looked at his arm for a second. It had certainly looked like it hurt— good thing Sherry had an experimental pain killer underway that he just happened to have in his glove box. He could tell his arm was shattered— it had in fact hurt like hell.

Gin looked up. He had fifteen minutes, he figured loosely, before anything interesting would happen. He had already re-aligned most of his arm with grisly cracking noises. He didn't think a splint would help much, but it would contain the mess long enough to get it to Sherry. Vodka was going to keep an eye on her today, that had left him to stumble out of Anokata's office alone. Luckily for him Vermouth had been sent out on assignment, he didn't need her teasing about the injury.

Gin had been careless, Anokata had figured out that the assassin had a side project. He had enough endurance to make it past the torture that person had to use, and past a few more. Anokata was pleased by his skills, and released him with a shattered arm, (Not to mention a sprained ankle, several lacerations, a very bummed ego…) without He walked the stairs down to his car, Anokata had disabled the elevator, and showed no sign of what had occurred in that person's office.

Considering the strength of Sherry's new drug Gin thought about taking the shot himself anyways, once he splinted the arm up anyways. It was a bit of a pain to shift though, considering that the one arm was presently numb up to his shoulder almost. His sprained ankle was trying to complain as he engaged the clutch earlier, but the drug was blocking out the pain from his other wounds as well.

He pulled the rifle stock out of the backseat and frowned, what a waste of a rifle, he broke the thing with a swift hit to the floor, then tied it to his right arm using his left arm and teeth. After he knew it wouldn't move he wrapped the two sides of the stock securely against his arm. It already itched, he then went back to surveying the area, still no changes.

Damn Chianti, Gin could already tell she screwed up, and he had to part one of his favorite rifles to use as a splint. Good thing he carried spares, he pulled out another from the backseat that was fully assembled. Her target was there an hour early, and he would even bet she wasn't there yet to take care of this. Gin looked through the scope, oh, she was there talking to Korn while setting up her rifle.

Gin now had two very interesting choices, shoot the target himself, or get Chianti's attention which could be achieved by three different ways. Shoot at her instead, put a red dot on her or Korn to get their attention, or call the stupid broad. Really, who lets their target sneak in without being ready? Now we know why she and major silence Korn are not in charge of operations.

Thankfully the two options were available to be done at the same time using a Bluetooth. He dialed Chianti and took aim, her target was a middle aged stock broker. He had failed at a task that he had been assigned, just as she was going to fail this task because she was simply unprepared. She answered her phone as Gin squeezed the trigger, she dropped the phone as his shot hit the broker mid stride, which caused the man to fall gruesomely face first into the pavement. Gin unbolted the chamber, letting the spent casing fall to the ground with a small clink. As the blood pooled under his now rapidly cooling corpse Chianti picked up the phone from its resting place.

"Next time do your homework right, take the credit," he used the scope to look at her for a moment as she tried to spot him with her binoculars. "Don't screw up again." He leaned down to pick up the spent casing that had cooled down considerably in the couple of seconds it had been in open air. "Clean it up properly, or next time I let you face that person."

"Understood," her voice quivered as the line clicked dead. Gin placed the casing in his pocket for now and put the sniper rifle away. He then looked up another number on his phone, he knew her drug wouldn't last forever. He hit the send button, it took a few minutes but when it finally connected he was met with a panicked and irritated voice.

"This is not the time to call and check up! Kudou's going into- Damn it! NO! Not that!" Sherry's voice was beyond irritated it was also worried, "Put that down and take this. No do not try to help me here take the phone before I drug you moron." Gin listened to the sounds of utter chaos in the background, he wasn't sure what was going on.

"Who is it?" Vodka's voice filled the line, then a door slammed shut behind him somewhere. There was a high pitched scream that was barely muffled.

"It's me," he responded in a questioning tone, "was that the fox?" Vodka cleared his throat in surprise.

"Yes Aniki, the antidote had just been administered," Vodka informed, "are you on your way already?" Gin cringed, Sherry must have informed Vodka of his meeting with Anokata. This would not be pleasant for any of them, he just hoped Vermouth would keep her distance while his arm recovered.

"Yes, inform Sherry I had to use that sedative," he answered. He was surprised he wasn't having a problem considering the sedative was in its beta stages of testing. It certainly took the fire out of his arm, the fact he kept having to switch gears wasn't helping his ankle. "I administered it about three hours ago. I'll be there shortly." He hit end, while he wasn't feeling anything in his arm that was splinted nice and tight, his ankle was throbbing from the constant shifting. He was starting to hate the clutch.

VODKA

Vodka didn't know what Gin had just told him exactly, but he was sure that Sherry needed to hear it. He opened the door a crack to see the detective back to his teenage size out cold across the bed. Sherry was looking over some monitors, until he stepped on a creaky floor board. She shot him a glare and made for a syringe.

"That was Aniki, he said he used some sedative?" he said tentatively, her eyes widened so he continued, "said he administered it three hours ago. He'll be here shortly." He set the phone down on a desk that had been moved aside. Sherry's eyes were still somewhat wide in disbelief, he really didn't get it.

"Three hours ago?" she asked quietly, he nodded in response, "that was strong enough to knock out an elephant." She looked at her wrist, Vodka had a feeling there was a lot more being left unsaid. "He's injured, and if he used that it's a serious injury. Possibly more painful than Kudou kun's resizing." Vodka felt his mouth drop, he'd seen the man shoot himself, he wasn't sure that Gin was human except that he bled like one.

"He's also driving himself," Vodka felt the need to add, Sherry nodded locking eyes with him for a moment, "should I get the first aid kit and the morphine?" Sherry's eyes narrowed in thought for a moment.

"The first aid kit should be enough for now," she started preparing something else on the cart, "Kudou kun, do you feel better yet?" The teenager on the bed stirred slightly, Vodka instantly recognized the teen from the roller coaster murder up close. The Osaka detective while he played a decent part couldn't mimic the expressions that those blue eyes shown with while on a case. The teen sat up and yawned.

"Fine, what's going on?" he asked blinking his eyes back into focus. Vodka didn't understand why she was letting the detective help. "Is he in trouble or something?"

"I need you to move to the other room," Sherry was instructing him, cleaning off—was that a scalpel? "Strip the bed and remake it, sheets are in the closet. Set the dirty ones off to the side." Vodka would take those and burn them, Aniki's blood was on them. He moved to the front room out of the way of the chibi scientist and the teenage detective.

"Vodka, can you clear off the couch while you're waiting?" the detective asked making his way towards the kitchen with a towel. The bulky agent didn't really understand why he decided to do as the kid had asked, but he had nothing better to do in the meantime besides staying out of Sherry's way. Although now the detective was clad in a blue high school uniform he noticed as the detective returned the bedroom. Vodka really didn't like the expression that was on the kid's face as he reemerged from there.

"Haibara thinks that he's in rough shape," the detective brat finally voiced, "the sedative that he took is, according to her, strong enough to knock an elephant flat on its ass." Of course there was the unspoken fact that Gin had a herculean level of pain tolerance. There was a soft click and the two turned to fact the blond assassin, as soon as the door shut Sherry was in the room. Her silent glare locked with an emotionless mask on his end.

GIN

He wasn't expecting all three of them to be there and ready for when he arrived. He shrugged off his coat draping it over one arm of the couch. As soon as he was seated Sherry was unwrapping his arm, he didn't so much as wince as she removed his make shift splint. As the adrenaline finished running its course he started to feel sleepy.

"I suppose this is only the beginning?"Sherry commented dryly looking at the watercolor portrait of bruises come to light, "are there any more serious ones?" He nodded, he couldn't feel his ankle anymore at least, he looked down at the irritated appendage in some surprise as he noticed he was still wearing his shoes.

"The ankle there is sprained, I had to walk on it from Anokata's office to car so it may be worse. I'm fairly certain my ribs are bruised and not broken," he started off trying to remember where he had taken injuries since he could not feel them at all. "That sedative works too well… Fifteen minutes after I administered it I couldn't feel my arm anymore, which was after I crunched it back into shape." He saw the detective cringe as he removed his shoes, and his left sock.

Everything was so… disconnected. There was the light touch of Sherry's fingers as she probed the arm checking to see that all the pieces were indeed in the right place. The detective was checking over his ankle, it was very strange after all the protesting it had been doing to feel the soft finger tips run down the muscle checking the strain.

"He's right that it's sprained, there's no tears that I can feel. It should be splinted as well," the detective said looking up to Sherry, "It is however very irritated, it will not feel much better than his arm until it is mended." She nodded, replacing the splint on his right arm with practiced care.

"You're lucky he only shattered the inner bone, otherwise you would be unable to use this arm at all for several months. We'll have to get an x-ray done to be sure all the bones are in the correct positions to mend," Sherry warned finishing the wrap on the splint, "Kudou kun and I have an associate we can have look at it and double check with."

"He won't go," the detective mumbled, "he shouldn't be walking at all on this foot for at least a week."

"That won't happen unless I drug him, and that won't happen," Sherry answered with an irritated tone, "he's more stubborn than you by miles and light years Kudou." The detective crossed his arms leaving the blond's very dark purple ankle hanging limp.

"Sherry, do what you can for it," Gin spoke softly watching the Chibi scientist work, "but who is this associate?" He was curious to say the least, who the Chibi scientist would know.

"Araide Tomoaki," the detective answered as Sherry took over looking over the blond's ankle herself, "Vermouth tried to kill him, but the CIA stepped in and helped him escape." Sherry nodded grabbing an ace bandage from the kit. The blond brought his uninjured hand to his chin, he had not heard of this man. Nor had he heard of Vermouth's attempt to kill the man.

"Why should I trust him, or either of you for that matter?" Gin asked in a low growl, "I have yet to see a reason why I should trust any of you. I take that back, I trust Vodka, and that's it." Sherry shrugged packing the med kit, looking up at him with a cold look. "After all the bad blood between Sherry and I could melt through steel. The detective here isn't much better."

"Then why did you come here in this weakened state? You are under the influence of a very heavy narcotic, with several injuries, none life threatening of course. If you didn't trust us you wouldn't be here now," the detective smirked, "all words and no bite there Gin. If I ask Araide Sensei to come he will, we'll just leave out your connection to Vermouth. He's a doctor, he's taken an oath to help…" Gin was giving him quite the glare right now, he pulled out his pistol and pointed right at the boy detective.

"Are you so sure about that?" the assassin questioned. The evil smirk crossing his face looked identical to the one Shinichi imagined on his face when he was poisoned that night in tropical land. The boy detective found himself backing up into Vodka's nervous frame. It seemed he wasn't the only nervous one that the blond had a gun in his hand. Sherry was the only one who seemed calm out of the four of them.


	18. PART EIGHTEEN- HOME VISITS

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gin would like me to inform the readers that I do not own anything in relation to the Detective Conan series, and that he in fact owns my muse. There is no money made off this or Vodka would be in charge of the blackmailing, and Vermouth would be disguised as me taking all the profits. Shinichi would be in charge of identifying me, and Takagi kun would get to cuff me while Sato san read me my rights. Then I would correct them saying 'dying message.' because I could. :)
> 
> Now I want to read a Araide/Shinichi... darn. Anyways here's the next one.

Shinichi was leaning against a rail outside of the small apartment, and Gin was being a stubborn bastard just as Haibara had predicted. He held his cell phone in his hands. He had wanted to call Ran and make sure she was doing alright, but his attention was divided over who needed help more, the assassin who was out cold thanks to Haibara, or Ran who was getting ready to have a break-down from sheer worry on his account.

Haibara had drugged Gin as soon as tried to get on that sprained ankle. She had called Araide Sensei twenty minutes ago, he had agreed to come. Vermouth was on her way as well as backup, while Vodka was standing at the front door, keeping an eye on the detective as he debated what he was going to say to Ran while he had the chance. His musing was cut short as he spotted the doctor approaching, the man looked a little rushed…

"Araide sensei, this way," he waved, and the doctor looked up and smiled waving back. The kind doctor might not have known who he was, but he probably recognized the Teitan high school uniform, "Kudou Shinichi, tantei san" He introduced holding out his hand with a calm smile, "I've heard about you from Mouri san." The doctor nodded, holding his bag and accepting the offered hand.

"I've also heard about you from Mouri san," the doctor looked around for a second before Shinichi led him inside, "would you be related to an Edogawa Conan, by chance?" Shinichi cocked his head to the side trying not to give away that he was 'the brat' that stayed with the Mouri family. "You two could be identical twins if not for age."

"You don't know the half of it," Shinichi mumbled to himself before continuing louder, "Your patient is just through here. Trust me, you don't want him awake." The doctor raised an eyebrow at that, but took the detective's word on it. "Haibara is keeping an eye on him for now, but he refuses to go in for treatment."

"With the sort of injury that the patient has sustained that is unwise. He should have sought medical help immediately," Araide started, "isn't Haibara san only seven or eight years old?" Shinichi snorted trying to suppress the laughter at the thought. "Is it really wise to leave a child with the patient?" He wondered just how much Jodie sensei had informed the doctor of…

"Do you remember the dock case where it was a plot to kill a young girl, but instead a young boy was kidnapped temporarily?" Shinichi questioned leaning against the doorframe, "the culprit had been impersonating you I believe the story goes." The doctor's eyes narrowed slightly, there was a recognition there with the case. That look however bothered Shinichi, he searched his memories when it came to him. He remembered the case where he and Ran had worked with the doctor at Teitan High School during the 'hauntings' to make Ran less uneasy about her class duties the following week. Sonoko had creeped the poor girl out, but that wasn't the problem.

"Kudou kun, how did you come to know this information? Only a select few people in Japan even know that," Araide looked crossed his arms, "Mouri san didn't even know that, only Edogawa kun knew that because…" He looked at Shinichi who was approaching ghost white, "so you must know Edogawa kun then, but what reason would he have to tell you that?" The doctor looked confused, but almost upset at the thought.

"Umm… he's my apprentice?" Shinichi squeaked trying to figure out which statement was going to give him away more… The detective recalled Ran's very true words, he was a terrible liar and a great sleuth. When he opened the door looking to Haibara for silent help, she looked back to the patient.

"Kudou kun what have you gotten yourself into this time?" she asked, "Araide sensei, here's your patient." Shinichi stood next to Haibara as Araide looked over Gin's arm. "What's wrong?" She whispered noting the sour look on Shinichi's face.

"Araide sensei says that if not for age Conan and I would be identical twins," Shinichi answered, Haibara snickered, "I might have unleashed a blunderbuss* against my story." She raised an eyebrow, "I might have revealed I know the details in the plot to murder you at the docks. As in the real me, not the kid me." Haibara's eyes narrowed and her frowned at him.

"Moron," she muttered, "now what are you going to do?" The detective shrugged, there wasn't a lot he could do. He certainly couldn't lie, Haibara could though… "Don't even drag me into this. Fix it yourself idiot." Araide was looking at them now, his eyes looking back and forth between the detective and the chibi scientist.

"Is there a reason I haven't seen you at Teitan this past week with Mouri san Kudou kun?" he asked, Shinichi looked at the floor like it was the most interesting thing in the world, "Kudou kun, I don't know what's going on here…" The doctor set his equipment down and looked at the teen with a sincere look, "but you don't have to hide from Mouri san." Shinichi's face went red and Haibara clamped a small hand over her own mouth. The red slowly rose to Shinichi's ears and the doctor became even more confused, what was there to get mad about?

"I'm not hiding from Ran!" his cheeks were as dark as pomegranate seeds. The chibi scientist burst into a short fit of laughter, "Haibara!" The scientist ignored him as the doctor became more puzzled, "I've always been by her side, always." He insisted, and the doctor recognized the look from the day Conan heard Ran's father saying that she would be better off marrying the doctor than the detective otaku. Seconds later Araide understood and dropped his clipboard with a nice solid clinking sound.

"You're Edogawa…" the man muttered in disbelief, "incredible." It seemed that his logic driven brain had figured out why Shinichi knew things that only the glasses wearing seven year old should know. Haibara stopped laughing with a nod, it would be nice to have a doctor in the loop.

"No, it's unbearable!" the detective corrected, "do have any idea how frustrating being stuck in the body of a grade-schooler is?" The wide eyed doctor shook his head still trying to wrap his head around it. "So what about the patient, he's the reason we called you." The doctor slowly picked up the chart then looked back at the two of them. Shinichi noted that sometime after he entered with the doctor Vodka had somehow disappeared. He wasn't sure how this was possible seeing as he had been standing in front of the only exit from the apartment…

"As I told you over the phone earlier, the only for sure way to check the bone is set correctly is to get an x-ray of his arm immediately. Otherwise it may mend incorrectly and cause him un-necessary pain over the remainder of his life," the doctor lifted Gin's arm carefully off the bed, examining the appendage with great care.

"No one deserves that…" the small scientist acknowledged softly, "He'll be out for maybe two hours if we're lucky, the right radius is shattered," she unwrapped the arm slowly. This revealed a very nasty looking watercolor of purples, blues, and blacks coating the skin of the right arm. The doctor gingerly took Gin's arm in hand, running his fingers just hard enough to feel the bone. "I currently have him on morphine to keep the pain from the arm down."

ARAIDE

"Then he still needs the x-ray," Araide answered, he couldn't believe what his fingers were telling him. To make matters worse he was still backpedaling trying to find some sort of flaw in his logic, that Kudou Shinichi just couldn't be Edogawa Conan! There was no possible way it was true, and yet… That certainly explained why the child was so sharp, but what did that say about detective Mouri?

"Please don't tell Ran," the teenage detective pleaded as they worked with the unconscious blond, "it will only put her in more danger if she knows that I am Conan." Araide let his shoulders sink as he wrapped the wound up again. He was grateful that the small scientist had called, he wasn't sure just how bad everything was under the bruising.

"I will keep your secret Kudou kun, as a thank you for helping Yasumoto san that time," he answered, "and as I see it you have two options, have him come for an x ray or have an x ray come to him. If you go to the machine you'll have the results faster and they'll be more accurate than a portable x-ray device." Shinichi had thought as much, but they both knew Gin would never agree to go in under normal circumstances.

"He won't go," they replied at the same time. The chibi scientist continued in a dry tone, "he's too stubborn, do you have any recommendations on where to rent an x-ray?" Araide sensei frowned, he had suspected that the man was trouble.

"You weren't planning on operating it yourself were you?" he inquired slightly stressing out at the idea of the child sized scientist running such a delicate and dangerous machine. When she didn't meet his eyes, and the detective rolled his, Araide knew that was exactly what she was planning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hittocere: Well now I have a muse for two Conan fics... you should be on the look out for an Araide/Shinichi fic in the future... (that will be totally unrelated to this one of course.)
> 
> Blunderbuss* - a blunder buss is a short barreled, large projectile/caliber weapon. Muzzle loaded like a musket, and has a smooth bore. Think of it this way, if you've ever seen Pirates of the Carribean with they start firing the silverware from the cannons this gun is a mini version of that. Jammed full of gunpowder, nails, sticks, then fired at a close range enemy to inflict massive damage. For a more accurate definition search google.


	19. PART NINETEEN- HELLOOOO NURSE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fact: Yasumoto Hikaru is Araide's housekeeper, the one that accidentally killed his dad in a plot created by the stepmother.
> 
> Warning supreme crack humor and OMAKES at the end of this chapter.

When Araide sensei left, Vermouth and Vodka seemed to suddenly appear out of nowhere. Shinichi had been so busy with Araide sensei and Haibara that he never did get around to calling Ran, and when Gin was finally allowed to wake, he was even more busy. The blond was positively venomous about being drugged, but Shinichi offered a solution that had been somewhat acceptable. Go in to get the x-ray done on his arm and Haibara would let him leave, regardless of the state his ankle.

After several rounds of arguments Gin finally agreed to get his arm x-rayed, and a call was made to Araide sensei to ask if he would operate the machine. The doctor agreed so long as the blond didn't come alone, as the blond made the doctor nervous. When Shinichi offered to go, with all of the involved parties (except Shinichi because Gin was going to drive them there) appeased. Gin refused to have Haibara administer anymore drugs to him, even if his ankle was going to hurt like a bitch by the time he got there.

As a precaution Shinichi carried a backpack with a set of Conan sized clothes. He had no idea what time the antidote would wear off. Nor did he wish to travel looking like he was some sort of abandoned child wearing a shirt that would look like a dress on him.

Gin probably drove better than Yukiko at least, and since he wouldn't let Haibara drug him again he was also sober as a judge. Shinichi actually half enjoyed riding in the Porsche and Gin handled it with an uncanny ease considering his ankle was sprained. He barely felt the car shift gears, let alone turn, Shinichi almost forgot Gin didn't know where the Araide's clinic was…

"Did you need any directions from me?" Shinichi asked sinking a little further into the seat, "or did Vermouth already give you directions?" Gin frowned, shifting the car again as we came across a traffic light. That's when he noticed the motorcycle discreetly leading them with Vermouth on it. The blond figured he had noticed, so he didn't answer. When the car stopped Shinichi was half wondering if he was supposed to help the blond assassin into the clinic.

"Are you coming?" the blond in question asked as he entered clinic. Shinichi stood there looking dumbstruck for a second. How did the man move so fast with a gimpy leg? Gin was already inside by the time Shinichi was at the door, he was speaking to one of the nurses with an astounding amount of patience for the normally volatile man.

"Sir, do you have an appointment?" she asked, Gin who on a good day with people shot them first then wondered what to do with their dead body, was scowling right now. Shinichi decided to intervene.

"Yes, let Dr. Araide know that Kudou Shinichi is here to see him," the detective now had several people staring at him, the nurses namely. Gin attempted to fold his arms, but was foiled by the splint on his right arm. Shinichi noticed how he had tried to hide the splint using his trench, but for clever eyes who knew what they were looking for it was obvious.

"Right away, are you sure you're Kudou Shinichi?" the nurse asked raising an eyebrow. Shinichi caught Gin sending her a glare from the corner of his eye. She decided to scurry away into a door at that point much to the blond's amusement. The doctor hearing the poor nurse run into the door, opened the door into her nose as she backed away. She squeaked and ran for the nurse's station.

"Ah, sorry for making you wait Kudou kun," Araide looked over towards the blond, "this way please." The two followed, Shinichi swore that the doctor grimaced as he watched Gin follow. That's right, he also knew about the ankle! They were lead back towards the house almost, Shinichi recognized a good portion of the house/clinic.

"How is Hikaru san?" Shinichi asked as Gin removed his coat. The blond somehow managed to remove his coat and his shoulder harness without Araide noticing the hidden pistol. Mainly because Araide was looking at Shinichi, the doctor himself was busy readying the x-ray equipment.

"Yasumoto san is doing okay, obaachan thankfully hasn't revealed anything to her from that night. Could you step over here please?" Araide asked, Gin stepped in front of the machine with an irritated expression. "You'll need to wear this, it's a lead shield. It's designed to protect the body from to much exposure to the machine." Gin didn't look overly thrilled at the lead lined apron that was draped over his person, that might have been because the thing weighed like twenty lbs.

The blond was bored while the machine took the necessary pictures, to pass the time he tried to remember what types of chemicals doctors generally have on hand. He then decided to think about all the different chemical reactions, everything from the size to the maximum amount of heat generated from the explosion from a couple of drugs. He also considered the amount of projectiles that were possible, not to mention how many could be used like throwing knives.

Judging from the expression on the other two men in the room he must have had quite the bemused expression. The detective looked nervous, he could probably guess what was crossing the blond's mind. He wondered when the fox was going to shrink back down again. He could see the flush of his cheeks from here, but maybe that was because of his predatory look that was semi focused on the sharp objects beside him. The blond decided that he was officially bored out of his mind as the doctor decided to remove the lead apron. The detective was cautious enough to remain between him and the scalpels as he got ready to leave.

VODKA

Vodka sat across from the chibi scientist, she was just as on edge as he was about this little trip. They knew now that Kudou had some sort of influence over the blond, they weren't sure how deep that it ran or even if either one of them had noticed. Gin might have, but it was unlikely that Kudou knew or understood it.

"Why is it that only just now you thought I should know why Aniki is going through so much trouble for this kid?" Vodka tried to give her a stony face, but Sherry had long since mastered that art. Sherry averted her eyes, trying not to laugh outright at his attempt, she also didn't want to seem startled or interested in their affairs. It wasn't her concern that those two were playing cat and mouse with each other.

"I simply thought you had already heard these things from Gin himself," she explained with a bored expression, "Kudou has given himself up for the safety of his innocent friends. He offered everything he had, and Gin being the stubborn bastard is taking everything he offered. There is only one condition that Kudou put forth about it." Vodka raised an eyebrow, he couldn't see Gin accepting any deal that had conditions. It must have been semi reasonable, otherwise he probably would have been shot instead.

"What type of condition is it?" finally broke down and asked after a couple of minutes, "I can't see Aniki accepting any deal with a condition… so what did he agree to?" The chibi scientist leaned back with a smug expression.

"To cure Kudou of the Apotoxin before he takes his virginity," Sherry looked positively devilish as she answered, "and trust me, Kudou is definitely a virgin." Vodka wasn't going to ask how she knew this, but if Sherry said that he was it was a fact. Knowing Gin he wasn't quite sure what he was going to do with the detective yet, but he would be a valuable asset if put to the right tasks.

"Trust you to know that Sherry," he was fairly certain he was blushing at the thought. He was trying not to picture either the detective or his partner now, "how do you know that he won't hurt Aniki?" She gave him an annoyed expression crossing her ankles in that ladylike way.

"Kudou kun would not hurt Gin for any reason, it would take a couple murder scenes to explain it," she thought aloud, "he's in it for the mystery and the test of wit. He's just a murder magnet overall." Vodka wasn't sure he was buying into this, Sherry had been and still was a pathological liar. He just wasn't sure if these was one of those times. The two of them sat in silence for almost half an hour while they waited for the blond and his…

"That was totally unnecessary!" the detective shouted, his cheeks were flushed, "seriously, why did you have to do that?" He was back to being the Conan size, and he was rubbing his head like he'd been smacked. Vodka however was too busy trying not to imagine Gin jumping the kid, his face was bright cherry red. Sherry was snickering at him, and Gin had an eyebrow raised in his direction wondering what was up with the big man.

"Sherry, didn't you have something to test once he shrunk back down again?" the blond commented eyes still locked on the very embarrassed looking Vodka. He was attempting to avoid Gin's eye contact, his mind was providing mental images trying to figure out just what the detective had been upset over. He almost had a nosebleed when the blond started taking off his trench, he honestly did not want to be here right now, "what are you doing?" The blond sat down on the chair before him watching his face closely.

"Nothing Aniki," the portly agent responded a little too quickly, "nothing at all." He sat trying to figure out how to cleanse his mind of what Sherry had placed there. "Sherry told me about Kudou's deal." The blond looked amused, Vodka now realized that he had been deliberately been left out of loop. He frowned at the assassin that was reading him with a lot more caution now.

"You have nothing to be concerned about Vodka, he's the one that almost caught you," Gin remarked as the pintsized detective walked by towards the kitchen, "I almost caught you that time fox. Sherry told me the rest of the story, you were 30 seconds from being worm food." The detective walked back towards them with coffee in hand scowl plastered across his face.

"You opened the door enough that I passed out from stress. I wouldn't have felt the shot," the detective sipped the steamy liquid staring at the blond, "at least I can get an MRI without the risk of dying…" Gin frowned at the detective as he made his way to the back bedroom where Sherry was waiting.

"What was that about Aniki?" it was Vodka's turn to be amused. The blond looked like he was caught between hookers or something. He made a reach for his cigarettes when the detective showed up swiping the things. "Do you have a death wish Kudou?"

"Araide sensei also mentioned that he sounds like an ashtray, he needs to lay off the smoke unless he wants lung cancer," the detective commented dryly, "it also will let his body focus on his arm and ankle. The less your body has to worry about as it tries to mend itself." Vodka raised an eyebrow, the kid seemed to have more concern for Gin's health then the assassin did.

"Don't make me shoot you," the blond growled, "give me back my cigarettes or I will confiscate your coffee." The detective looked about as thrilled as the blond did about that idea, he tossed the cigarettes back. Sherry had indeed been correct, they really were two peas out of the same pod.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMAKES- or rather events that are ooc enough that they should not be included. However they can be crack references...
> 
> Back in Araide's office, what could have happened…
> 
> "I'd like to take an MRI of your arm to ensure all of the shards are where they are supposed to be and to find out if any surgery is necessary," Araide asked. The detective folded his arms leaning against a wall with an uneasy smile.
> 
> "You probably can't do that sensei," the detective smirked, "the MRI is a giant imagery that uses high powered magnets to function correct?" Gin saw where this was going and shook his head, there was no way that was safe for him to enter then.
> 
> "Do you have any sort of metal implants or anything that we should be aware of?" the doctor decided to ask after noting the detective started making an amused face. "Kudou kun is correct in the part about high powered magnets, if you have anything metal it will rip it clear out of wherever it's sitting."
> 
> "Then it's probably not a good idea, seeing as there are several un-accounted for...fragments," Gin decided upon as he rolled his eyes, "I know for a fact that there are at least twenty…" He surmised, the doctor's eyes lit up in surprise. He hadn't expected that evidently, although the detective had at least suspected as much.
> 
> "Well that could have been disastrous," Araide remarked calmly, "not only would that machine have removed the fragments it would also have destroyed the machine as they flew out like bullets because of the magnets. Most likely case killing the patient, you are lucky sir." The detective had to discretely put a hand over his mouth to stifle his laughter, considering those were probably bullet fragments that would be pulled out. Gin himself couldn't help but smirk at the irony. The most humorous of all was that Araide sensei himself couldn't figure out what was so funny about the statement.


	20. PART TWENTY- PERFECT ENEMY

Shinichi for his part could not understand why Vodka had started to change shades every time Gin or he entered the room. He appeared to be… embarrassed? This only confused the detective more when he thought about it, what reason did the big agent have to be embarrassed? It was a strange thing to watch the normally so composed and stoic man turn cherry red at the slightest of comments. It was about three hours later when he finally found out from Haibara why this new reaction was finally occurring now.

Shinichi himself had turned a deeper shade of crimson, which had Vermouth and Gin staring at him in return. He had never been more glad for Vermouth's appearance than he was in that moment. Home meant he could escape the awkwardness of the situation at hand, Haibara had left him alone after her input at the very least. Vermouth announced that he had five minutes to collect his stuff, which if he had bothered to think about it was five minutes to actually take the time to say goodbye to the strange agents he had come to somewhat understand.

Vodka had gone out on assignment a couple of minutes before, and Haibara was conveniently absent leaving only the blond assassin. Currently he was reading sitting on the couch in the front room, Shinichi took up his backpack and approached the man wearily. The detective cleared his throat, gaining the blond's attention.

"It was… nice to be in a place where I didn't have to act like a child," Shinichi looked away from blond, "thank you for that." There was a lot more he could say, but he figured that the blond was clever enough in his own right that he could figure it out. The blond placed a finger in his book to hold his place, and shifted slightly before returning to his original position again. Shinichi had to bite back the smirk that threatened to grace his features, the blond had tried to lean on his right arm again.

"Check that spot where you found the note regularly," Gin seemed… rather subdued today, "It was… interesting to have you around fox." Shinichi wondered why the blond was making such an effort to keep a blank face. He was about to ask when Vermouth reappeared as Fumiyo, ushering him out the door in a mother like fashion.

"Sayonara," the pint size detective decided against waving as he followed Vermouth out to the car. He could help but think that he was actually going to miss being confined to that tiny apartment when he got to school next.

"He's brooding," Vermouth stated randomly as we reached the car, she smoothly buckled him in as he started trying to decipher the statement. "contrary to the belief he's not emotionless." Shinichi snorted softly, he knew what she was talking about, the blond was far from emotionless. It was rather ironic who came to mind when he thought about it.

"I know that, he's a lot like Holmes. He knows what emotions are, he's just too calculating to care about expressing them. He settles on anger and sarcasm because they are the easiest for him to manipulate," Shinichi observed, "if he wasn't so caught up in assassinating people he would have made a fascinating police inspector probably…" It was Vermouth's turn to stifle a laugh at that, there were many things that Gin could have done proficiently, but it must have seemed an odd turn of logic for her to think of the blond on the police force.

"Possibly, but not now. Gin's not the type of man who follows rules well, a private detective like you maybe, but never a police detective," Vermouth smiled coyly, "so where am I dropping you off Cool Guy?" The tiny detective looked at the window for a moment in thought, then back up to the master of disguise.

"You can leave me at Teitan Primary, I minds well dive back in head first…" Shinichi answered, "although I'd really like another cup of coffee…" Vermouth laughed again, the detective then remembered something that he had previously forgotten. "Why did you give me reefer?" She glanced at him with a bemused expression.

"It rendered amusing results… Oh, um because I was bored?" the woman looked way too entertained by that statement for his liking as they pulled up at the curb by Teitan Primary. She opened his door and before he could start to protest left a giant lipstick mark upon his forehead. "By sweetie!" she called getting in the car and zooming away. Shinichi had never felt more disoriented than that moment, with the exception of when Gin had him pinned against the kitchen sink.

"Oii Kudou!" Shinichi visibly twitched when he heard that voice call out to him. If Shinichi thought his weekend was interesting, this afternoon was about to get complicated…

"Hattori, how many times do I have to tell you not to shout that out?" Shinichi frowned trying to wipe off Vermouth's lipstick. The plum color looked funny, and the Osaka detective didn't hesitate to snicker at the sight.

"Your mom sure did go overboard this time, but there's no time for that!" Heiji grabbed his hand, "you, or should I say Mouri, got a notice. But there's no time to discuss it here, come on! Hurry up Kudou!" Shinichi was forcibly yanked towards the neon green crotch rocket* that Heiji had brought with him. A few seconds later there was a nice tight black helmet thrust upon his head, and not more than a nano second later they were speeding off towards the Mouri Detective agency.

Shinichi himself wasn't sure as to the exact reason why Heiji felt the need to speed the three blocks there. Then nearly miss the turn by almost smashing the two of them into human pancakes on the corner building. On the plus side… the hospital would have treated them quickly if they had. Whether it be to declare them dead from impact, or alive with immeasurable amounts of injuries from the collision with the concrete foundation. When Heiji finally stopped the bike Shinichi was fighting motion sickness and the urge to aim at the idiot Osaka detective's shoes. Maybe the bike would be a better target seeing as it was already an ugly color…

"Hattori, I suggest you wait a moment or you'll have coffee barf in a trail following you up to the door," Shinichi warned swaying a bit on his feet. The mini detective was awarded a grand total of five minutes to compose himself. "Now you can continue, so what's this about a notice?" The Osaka detective had that look of contemplation on his face, then his eyes narrowed…

"You think it's a Kid heist don't you?" the suspicion aimed at the mini detective was not pleasant. "By the way, you never answered my letter…" Shinichi sighed, he wondered if the helmet had wiped the remainder of the plum lipstick off his forehead. He also wished that the other blond had been the one to… he turned a nice shade of cherry red at the thought.

"No," he stammered trying not to think of all the implications of that last thought, "I don't think it's a Kid heist. He knows where I was this weekend, he's more considerate than to have another heist so quickly after that in this area." Shinichi reasoned, his cheeks still quite flushed. "However, oochan gets lots of notices, usually from those with malicious intents that really don't want to hurt somebody…" The mini detective wondered what sort of notice was waiting for him inside.

"That's true, but how come you are so sure it isn't a Kid notice? And what do you mean he knows where you were this weekend?" Heiji was up in his face now. Shinichi regretted stating those muses aloud…

"Kaitou Kid and I are not in cahoots or whatever it is you choose to call it. I just owe him a rather large favor, and after what he managed to help me arrange almost two weeks ago he definitely earned it," the mini detective answered honestly, "he also would drag me, by my ankles if need be, to his next heist, that is if he had to. Which would be far safer than your lunatic driving Hattori." The Osaka detective rubbed the back of his head with that, 'I swear it wasn't my fault' look that was so typical of him.

"My bad for asking," the Osaka detective followed him up the stairs and into Kogoro's office, "Oii uncle I found the bozu here!" Shinichi resisted the urge to kick Heiji's shins at the comment. Kogoro for his part looked utterly confused, he hadn't expected to see Conan yet, let alone the Osaka detective.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: The reason I felt the need to mention the hospital at all is because I just discovered, via the map I downloaded of Beika, it is right across the way from the Mouri Detective Agency. It's kinda funny how close the places are when you look at the map.


	21. PART TWENTY ONE-NO TAG BACKS

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm currently flying by the seat of my proverbial pants. Shinichi and Heiji are mad at me, so this chapter is going a bit wonky, it changes point of views several times… Kogoro, Heiji, Gin, and Ran all have perspectives. I think that the Heiji and Shinichi notice thing will be in the next one, but I will not write it until I have an idea what to do with them.
> 
> Also a Kaitou Kid quote that is oddly fitting: "Anyone can write, but only a literary genius can entertain." I'm not saying that I'm a literary genius, but Kid might be.

Kogoro watched the boy's face go from irritated to interested in the matter of a few moments. The kid certainly did know what the notice meant, not that he could think of anything besides puns off it. The Osaka brat had phoned in that he was coming down anyways, so Kogoro had made the mistake of telling him the notice over the phone. The Osaka boy had gotten so chatty at it that he actually couldn't hear or understand half of what he was saying.

Looking at the two of them he wondered what was so interesting about the thing… It was just a bunch of numbers and a few letters, it was like that other time that the Osaka brat had come… The kid had received a message and all of a sudden there were three arrests, Kogoro just didn't get it at all.

"… is this?" the kid asked handing the notice over to the Osaka brat. "If it's the same code, then why does it only seem like only half of its here?" The Osaka brat nodded, seeming to confirm his suspicions.

"Hey Occhan? Is there a note that came with this?" he asked the oldest detective with a look of curiosity. Then the freeloading brat spoke up, Kogoro was surprised at the childish smile that graced his features.

"Heiji niisan, let's go," the expression was so odd gracing the child detective's features that it creeped out the seasoned detective…

"Well I suppose you read the note already based on the fact we're leaving," Heiji whispered as they descended the stairs, Shinichi shot him a look.

"It was simple really, even Occhan will eventually be able to figure it out," Shinichi sighed, "using a gambler's code like that case with the lawyer…" The Osaka detective looked like he remembered that case more clearly than he would have liked. Shinichi could see the frown form from the corner of his eye, it had been fairly interesting from Shinichi's point of view. From Heiji's it must have seemed like just another near death experience…

"So what does it say then Kudou?" he asked trying to forget the other case.

"Simply put, it is only half of a notice. First we have to retrieve the other half," Shinichi responded coolly, "logic dictates that the other half will be waiting for us at the professor's house." The Osaka detective looked mildly confused at this point, which since he didn't know that Agasa hakase picked up Shinichi's mail he supposed that it probably didn't make that much sense to the other detective.

"Why would you think that?" he finally gave in and asked.

"Because, the other notice was probably in my mail… Kogoro Occhan and I are the most famous detectives in the Tokyo area," Shinichi reasoned, "if he got one half of the notice than there's a very high chance that I got the other half. Seeing as Occhan gambles a lot it's of no surprise to me that they sent him the code in that format. My half of the notice will be the one we have to worry about…"

"Ah, that would make sense," Heiji nodded helping the shorter detective back onto the neon green crotch rocket. After both of them had their helmets on Heiji speed them off towards the Kudou estate.

~Gin~

He was currently staring out the window of his usual dwelling. It seemed that the mini detective wasn't the only one who had enjoyed the weekend cooped up in a small apartment. Sherry had been working with him still, but it just wasn't the same without the clever fox around to keep him on his toes. He looked down to the pistol in his lap that he was only have finished cleaning, he frowned at it. Cleaning the small firearm was a lot easier when both of your arms were completely functional, as it was he was limited to one handed pull ups and that wore him out more than he had allowed for.

He couldn't allow Vodka to do all of the weapon maintenance, he made too many mistakes which was why Gin now had to supervise all of firearm cleanings. Which might not have been totally necessary except that Vodka had forgotten to put the firing pin back in his own weapon. Gin had raised his eyebrows more than a few times trying to figure out exactly how one manages to forget replacing the firing pin in your weapon.

He put the berretta pieces on the side table after much consideration, it wasn't like he didn't have several to begin with. He checked the clip of his backup weapon before sliding it smoothly into his shoulder holster. He wondered what type of gun the fox liked to use, it wasn't a stretch to picture the pint sized detective with a weapon, unlike the white clad annoyance that stalked the boy. Perhaps he was an old school revolver shooter? Maybe a slightly bigger piece, like a zig? Or perhaps he liked mini guns… Gin smirked, .50 mini guns were very fun to use, however he personally preferred his M82 Barret with the inferred red dot scope.

It was very hard to hide from a dot you couldn't see, especially the one locked on you from almost two thousand kilometers away. Gin had made use of the organization's shooting range more than once to perfect his use of the weapon. It was an unspoken fact, if you needed a point man Gin was the best there was. He also hand loaded a lot of his rounds, so a lot of times there wasn't much left to clean up body wise by the time one reached their target.

The blond secured his coat, putting a make shift gauntlet over the broken appendage for the meantime. He had a tendency to swing that arm into things, and it hurt under any circumstance that it actually made contact. He thought back on how the detective had said goodbye, he had seemed sincere at the very least. Locking up the door behind him he made his way to the Porsche, briefly considering ditching the recon assignment and going to bug the detective. As a vaguely familiar brunette wandered past him he decided against it and drove off.

~Ran~

She looked back at the darkly dressed blond that had passed her and had to take a moment to figure out if it was a man or a woman. She decided on a man recalling the sharp cheeks and the way he had just peeled out of the parking stall his car had occupied.

She vaguely stared at the black tire treads newly settling onto the pavement. It wasn't enough of a distraction, she could still feel the tear streaks that had long since dried on her cheeks. It had been an exceptionally long weekend, and the sheer amount of homework that had been assigned during it had been horrendous. The one thing she had waited patiently for the entirety of the weekend however, never happened, Conan saying that Shinichi would call her. What a lie…

Shinichi's inconsistencies were taking their toll on her, was he okay? Was he even alive? Ran had spent whatever time she had when she was not working on homework trying to rationalize what was going on with Shinichi. From there it took a right turn to Conan always making excuses for him, and the constant strange behaviors and actions of everyone. As of late things had become strange, Conan spent more time at Agasa's leaving her to ponder everything without interruption, save for her father's drunk shouts at the television.

It had taken her a couple of hours in addition to the overwhelming long weekend to finally come to a conclusion. This conclusion might have been flawed to some, but it answered a lot of her worries. Tears had been shed, flowers torn up using a childish crude method, and an abundance of strange evidence all pointed to one truth.

Shinichi must be Conan. This fact which she had suspected on and off for so long had finally come to a crux. Yet this explanation solved every question, every mystery but one. Why was he lying to her? It made sense of why Hattori continually called him Kudou, it also explained the irritated expression Conan's face would make as he looked around when Hattori did so. She had witnessed yet another one of those moments just earlier.

Conan had looked back at the Osaka detective with a scowl just like Shinichi had when irritated, he hadn't bothered to correct him either. The way Conan spoke with Hattori also had lead her to the suspicion that it was Shinichi. They spoke together like the detective geeks they were, and a lot of times 'Conan' had showed up the Osaka boy during their deduction games. Just why did Hattori Heiji get to know while she was kept in the dark?

Her phone started to ring, she looked at the caller id on the small screen with a soft smile. He was late, but late was better than never.

"Konnichiwa baka tantei otaku," she spoke into the receiver. There was soft sigh from the other side of the line, "you had me worried this time you know. It has been so long since I'd last heard from you…" She didn't like playing the guilt card, but Conan had mentioned that he would call earlier.

"Something came up, someone was injured in the case I was working on," he sounded sad, "he was okay, but we had to call in a doctor for him. Conan said you were looking a little blue and that I should call, so are you feeling better now?" He sounded concerned, she smiled and softly laughed at him over the phone.

"Much better now that I know you're alright," Ran smiled, it was just like him to get all worked up when people got hurt. "I hope your friend gets better soon, so how did he get hurt?" Shinichi's voice made her heart flutter in joy, it confirmed to her that he was alive and okay. It made days of uneasiness slowly scatter to the winds, as he explained his voice going through varying tones of excitement and worry. "Could you call again sometime soon, it was good to hear from you again Shinichi. Take care of yourself, I miss you."

"I miss you to Ran," the solmon tone in his voice almost made her cry, "I'll give you call again soon, tell Conan thank you for me." She waited until she had ended the call to laugh with small treks of tears framing her face. He wanted her to tell him thank you from himself? She smiled recalling Hattori's voice in the background while he was talking. She would wait until he was ready to tell her he was Shinichi, until the game would transpire the way it did.

~Shinichi~

"Hattori, are you trying to get me in trouble?" Shinichi hissed. He wasn't sure why he felt the need to tell Ran about Gin getting injured, but it was why he didn't call. The blond had been injured, but Ran would understand that he would make sure that the person would get the proper care.

"You were giving some weak excuse to her about somebody being injured, why couldn't that somebody be me?" Heiji whined, "besides, if you weren't making it up who was it?" Shinichi's face grew hot, he should have seen that coming. He gave him a short glare, "what's that look for?" Shinichi made like he was reaching for his shoes.

"Maybe Kid was right, detectives do seem to be nosey critics," he mumbled under his breath, "I went to visit Haibara this weekend, and one of our mutual acquaintances came back with a broken arm and a twisted ankle." Well it wasn't an outright lie, Heiji had a distinct habit of poking his nose in matters that Shinichi was involved in. "Thankfully Araide sensei agreed to look over their injuries, it eliminated any disagreements on going to a clinic for treatment."

"Why would anybody disagree about going to the doctor's office with that sort of injury?" Heiji shrugged his shoulders, "so is it Iatrophobia?" Shinichi had to hold his tongue, he couldn't even begin to explain what was wrong with that image.

"No, it has nothing to do with a fear of doctors, although the doctors might be more concerned about having them as a patient," Shinichi smiled for a minute, "you know the old saying don't you Hattori?"

"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned?" he guessed. Shinichi was laughing so hard he was unable to correct the Osaka detective.

'To the man who only has a hammer, everything he encounters begins to look like a nail.* Or in this case pistols and targets…' Shinichi thought in amusement. He just couldn't picture it as he doubled over on the sidewalk, but the idea of Gin being mistaken for a woman sent all sorts of humor induced images floating through his mind. "I wonder what he'll say to that…"

"What who will say to what?" the Osaka detective asked, then he remembered the pronoun. His cheeks flushed, "there's no need to pass that on is there?" Shinichi sent him a crazy person's smile, of course he would. He wanted to see the consequences, it was too good an opportunity to pass up. Pulling out his keys he unlocked the front door to Kudou manor, making the dark trek into its depths with a smile tugging at his lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a/n: I am SOL on writing a notice for the boys, so we may see the entire thing from the views of other characters points of view. It will be interesting, it still comes down to I stink at writing riddles. I will try to be more timely, and now I'm going to watch it rain on the Rose Festival. Hittocere
> 
> *To the man who only has a hammer, everything he encounters begins to look like a nail. —Abraham Maslow
> 
> Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. – William Congreve from the Mourning Bride circa 1697.
> 
> The actual quote reads- Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned," spoken by Zara in Act III, Scene VIII. The version used is a commonly used paraphrase.


	22. PART TWENTY TWO- A DARK KNIGHT

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> IMPORTANT This is set two days after the end of Part 21-No Tag Backs. So bare with me here as this unfolds to reveal the truth about the notices. The sequence of events that took place before this will be clarified, mentioned, or outlined in Chapter 23.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a/n 1 of 2: blame my addiction to soundtracks, or Hans Zimmer, but I may have just gotten a perfectly horrid muse for the notice. Or now lack thereof… *grins evily* I also had to do some homework for this chapter, because normal people should not be able to know certain things off the top of their head. Right? I can't write riddles, but I hope can be vague enough to create a decent mystery for you all.
> 
> Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there.—Will Rogers

As they ran down one of several darkened corridors, Shinichi found himself wondering how things had ended up this way… How he was here, in this place with this particular person, with no other allies in the remote vicinity? Why was here, with this person of all the people he could have called, and why wasn't he worried? When had he decided that this murderer* no longer deserved a trial, and when had that door came within eyesight? (how about when had he decided that he didn't want to persecute this particular murderer, he wanted him dead.)

The blond assassin was ahead of him in something comparable to civilian clothes, running along with a sprained ankle and a shattered arm. He hadn't said a word since they entered the building, but Shinichi could feel how tense the air was in this place. The blond held his berretta in front of him, his expression cold. How had Shinichi managed to wrangle his help anyway?

It was Shinichi who had managed most of the break through the codes, and it was Heiji that had suggested the last breakthrough. They had rushed off all smug and ready to answer to the maker of this notice, because it had seemed innocent enough at first. Or at least that was how it was intended to be, an innocent fun challenge to the two Beika Meitantei. Of course with Shinichi's luck never ever went the way it was planned, especially not with Heiji in the immediate area.

What had led Shinichi to call the blond was the aftermath of solving those challenge notices. Heiji had been hospitalized with a bullet wound, which was all luck on his part because everyone else that had been there that moment (besides Shinichi) was now lying in a place where the temperature is seldom above 4 degrees Celsius.

He heard the click as the blond chambered a round and knew his time for thinking was probably just about over. Whoever was responsible was just beyond this door in all likelihood, and whoever they were, they were going to die as soon as Gin could laid eyes on them. Shinichi had already factored this in when he called the assassin, but it was still rather unnerving to be near the man while he was in predator mode. The shrunken detective readied his tranquilizer watch as the blond's eyes caught his for a moment. There was a loud crack as Gin's foot kicked in the door, and as he had predicted at the first sign of movement there was the soft crack of muffled gunfire.

His blood ran cold as he watched the blond secure the room, holding the pistol down but ready to fire if the man had accomplices. In the minutes it took Gin to triple check the area was secure Shinichi had regained enough composure to look about. The first thing he did was confirm his theory on the man's identity.

So the culprit had been a business man after all, caught so far into a web of lies that he had to murder innocent people to escape. Shinichi could feel the terror trying to sink into his body again seeing as he had just watched someone die in front of him for… was it up to the hundredth time now? The blond was now checking the room itself over, only once he was finally satisfied did he holstered the berretta, silencer in all, under his jacket.

"Now I distinctly remember why I didn't want to call you," Shinichi mumbled. He pulled out his gloves, the scene would remain as pristine as it needed to be. He would however need to know what the man had hoped to hide with that series of murders, or if he was blackmailed into it by someone. Judging from the angry expression on his face he didn't to appear to be an innocent casualty like the others.

Heiji had stumbled into a room where the killer had just finished with his last victim, caught off guard he had fired at Heiji. The Osaka detective had crumpled to the ground, and only Shinichi's own rushed actions to save the teen had kept him alive. The bullet had nicked his neck causing instant blood loss in that way that normally would prove fatal. Shinichi however specialized in run-ins with death, he tore up the first thing his hands could grab and secured the wound putting pressure on it.

It had been calling the ambulance that was the trick, how does one keep pressure and dial without choking the injured in the process? Shinichi would never know, because he hadn't been able to phone. So had it been the murderer then, as a sign of remorse for his actions? The shrunken detective had returned to the scene an hour later to find out. There was however nothing there, frustrated he had kicked over a garbage can with a half burnt address on it.

This was the location, an abandoned office building set to be demolished in a few months. There were still remnants of the business that it had once contained, files strewn about, desks and chairs scatter haplessly around, and old corny motivational posters from what looked to be the fifties. He noticed the man's hand in a filing cabinet, even so graciously holding the file that Shinichi would have had to search through the entire set of cabinets for.

GIN

The blond leaned against a nearby wall waiting for the detective to finish his investigation. When the Fox had called he had been en route to a location near here for a hit, not that the brat needed to know that, it just so happened this was the man he had been briefed long enough to know as his target. He didn't care why the man had to die, it was just his job to make sure he was dead. If the Fox was investigating him then it was probably for the best he kept that information to himself.

Speaking of his child-sized nemesis, what had he found there? He walked forward trying not to press to hard on his injured ankle. It was a file, and it contained information eerily similar to something else he had read in the past few months, just what was it? This one however was lacking something… a medical report of some sort if he was not mistaken.

No matter, he would read through the file completely once the Fox finished with it. The boy let the file slide through his fingers to the floor, his eyes wide in mortification. Gin wondered what that was about and leant down to retrieve the file and see for himself, the Fox remained still his breathing slightly irregular.

"Something the matter with you Fox?" he muttered as he rummaged through the file. He raised an eyebrow when he found mentions of disappearances and the Organization in it. There was also a clipping about the Fox in his full size in there, not to mention a couple scandals and the mention of a blackmail or two. Nothing he himself had been involved in, but it had the markings of the Organization written all over it. "Surprised to find your true identity being clutched by the man who surely would have ended your life here?" The fox shook his head holding his short child sized fingers out for the file.

"No, it's this right here," he said as Gin handed him the file, "where it makes mentions of almost all the murder victims from yesterday night. Heiji's not on there, but I am under Kudou Shinichi. It also lists my father on there… What did we do to deserve that?" Gin shrugged, he didn't know or care why people needed to die. The only thing he cared about was that anyone who dared threaten his property was dead and burned to oblivion.

"So? He's finished business Fox, all that's left is the pyre for the evidence. Get what is necessary for your murder case, then I will demolish the building. I brought enough C-4 to take care of this floor at the very least," he communicated with professional ease. He had his own work to finish.

SHINICHI

The pint sized detective seized the file before him and a couple more from the cabinet as the blond disappeared back through the doorway. He knew that the assassin wasn't telling him something, but to level the entire building? What ghosts of the Organization could be here? He didn't bother to think of a way to ask the question, it wasn't his concern what empty buildings the blond imploded, so long as they were actually empty. One corpse wasn't enough for his morality to engage in a fight with the blond over his destructive evidence-eliminating ways.

Especially not over a man that had been targeting his father and had nearly killed Heiji. His breadth for forgiveness was no longer quite that wide. Shinichi would rather relinquish this case to Gin, and have all evidence lost to smoke. He scowled as he looked at the file once more. Yes, lost to smoke.

He had actually been impressed by the assassin today. Gin had actually answered his phone and agreed to meet him despite everything that had happened. In fact… Shinichi could swear he had arrived a little too early after hearing his request. What had the blond been up to when he called—stalking him? It wasn't like Shinichi could really ask him not to do that, but he really hoped that wasn't the case. Otherwise Heiji would be dead in a matter of hours, and he didn't want to have to be the one to break that kind of news to "Oni Heizo" in his home prefecture...

Gin had been strangely reasonable about helping him, it was suspicious, but he hadn't been shot or worse so he assumed he was in the clear for now. When Shinichi made his way out of the building he could just barely see the blond fiddling with some device in his hands. Once he noticed presence and the file in his hands he flipped up a switch and depressed a single red button.

"There's nothing like an explosion to end the day," the blond assassin whispered lighting up a cigarette as he got into the car, nine seconds later when Shinichi stopped hearing the explosions he turned. Smoke rolled out the windows in about ten seconds the building faltered like the underdog in a boxing match and caved in on itself. As he counted to twenty the office building had disappeared into the giant dust plume that was billowing out behind them in a mushroom shape. Gin looked pleased, Shinichi was shaking his head trying not to laugh.

"I should have known…" Shinichi muttered. The blond looked over at him, the expression unfeeling and cold, the cigarette still dangling from his pale lips.

"Be at Kudou manor next Friday night," he spoke rigidly, "alone." Shinichi remained silent throughout the car ride back to Beika. It was as he was brought to the entrance of the hospital that questions started to weave their way through his mind. The pint sized detective was literally kicked to the curb, and watched in silent frustration as Porsche sped off towards an unknown destination.

He wanted to believe that the cold hearted blond assassin had simply come because he asked nicely and mentioned the possibility of being a murder victim himself. Shinichi wanted to believe that he was more than some consolation prize for ruining a good day of work for the assassin. He wanted to believe that Gin actually cared about what might befall of him, in the end he doubted it was anything more than simple possessiveness.

The air in that car however had left him speechless, he had been unable to question the assassin point blank about his motives and objectives at the site. One might begin to believe he had lost his nerve, that was until they remembered that he only gave in because he didn't want to die so easily. The pint sized detective was so engulfed in these thoughts he didn't take in any of his surrounding details as he walked up the flights of stairs to Heiji's room.

It then occurred to the detective that he had yet to inform the police that the murderer had been found and dealt with. The detective cringed as he realized that he had thought a remark not unlike one the blond would have. Too mortified to try and rationalize it he opened the door to the Osaka detective's room to encounter the awaiting rant Heiji would have about being left behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a/n you should look at: Imagination was given to man to compensate him for what he is not, and a sense of humor was provided to console him for what he is. —Oscar Wilde
> 
> 'When had he decided that this murderer* no longer deserved a trial, and when had the door came within eyesight?'- I ought to explain something here, this line was original intended to be about the guy Gin was about to shoot, but it appears to me upon reading it to check for sentence flow that it could truly reference either. So I will let you decide what to take from that sentence since I actually mean both. If you find yourself confused by this statement feel free to ask me in either a review or pm and I will happily explain it or any other confusions brought up by this chapter that don't plot bust.
> 
> a/n you can ignore if you want: There will be more of an explanation of what occurred in between chapters 21 and 22 that wasn't written in this one. It will be in chapter 23, most likely from Heiji and then Gin's point of view. With perhaps a bonus character view or comment thrown in.
> 
> Youtube video to watch: v=WroEJFgtbq4 -building implosion timing reference


	23. PART TWENTY THREE- UNUSUAL DRAMA

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asking a working writer what he thinks about critics is like asking a lamppost how it feels about dogs. —Christopher Hampton

As he drove away from the hospital, he wondered vaguely why the child-sized detective looked hurt, had he wanted him to stay for some reason? The blond took a drag of his cigarette. He had asked the boy to meet him the following Friday, but what the hell was he going to do then? He hadn't really had anything in mind when he had mentioned that, as most of the time his follow up appointments ended with a gunshot and a funeral pyre. He didn't intend for that with the Fox though, so why did he ask?

What would the kid do on that Friday? The blond wasn't sure anymore that he was going to go. Maybe he should just call the Fox and cancel? He took out his phone, pulling over to the side of the street. He looked at his phone hesitantly, maybe he shouldn't call… but he had already hit send, the dial tone heavy in the air, then with a sudden click, the call being completed.

"Hang on, no Heiji. I have to take this, no its not Ran… What? No it's not a… I'll kill you myself, no that's not a threat Heiji. NO, don't you dare… I'm walking away now," the child sized detective went through a variety of emotions and ended his litany sounding irritated, "My apologies. Has something come up?" The Fox's voice was directed to Gin at last. He sounded tired, but he also sounded… happy? The blond was confused, the Fox was happy to hear from him? There was click as the door must have shut behind the tiny detective.

"What was all that?" he was genuinely curious. The Fox seemed surprised again, but given the intake of air he was probably also irritated at that other person still.

"Nothing you'd want to hear about, just Hattori being an Ahou," the detective answered, slightly irritated, "do I need to bring a bag on Friday?" Gin couldn't name the emotion that was coursing through his veins, he tapped his swollen ankle to disrupt the feeling it was forcing through him. Did he want to take the child-sized detective somewhere Friday night?

"Bring a bag, but no tricks," he warned, "wouldn't want every meeting we have to end with a body bag." He snapped the phone shut, something he had long forgotten thumping away in his chest. He looked down, placing a gloved hand over his heart willing it to slow, he frowned. This was impossible, how could this Fox brat churn up feelings that he simply could not possess?

He turned over the engine, taking another drag of the forgotten cigarette. He would deal with this when it became prudent, as for this Hattori Heiji, he had better watch his step. The blond smiled darkly, the only result of standing between Gin and his mark was death. The Fox was going to learn that slowly, but his little detective's friend was going to learn faster…

HATTORI- twenty minutes before the call

The first thing that came to mind as he opened his eyes was that it was far too bright. Instinctively he reached for his hat to pull it down over his eyes, only to find the thing missing. Upon further investigation he noticed he was in a hospital yukata and that Kudou had just entered the room. The other detective didn't seem too stressed out, so wherever he had ended up was safe.

"You look like hell Kudou, care to fill me in?" he started, the smaller detective sighed deposited himself in a chair.

"Well you getting shot was the tip of an avalanche. In order to prevent any additional murders from occurring I was forced to call in backup," the Beika native explained hesitantly, "I wouldn't say that we cornered him, but I would say that the matter has been resolved." Heiji blinked at the other detective, with the way that was being phrased it sounded like the man had been killed or something…

"So what did I miss?" Heiji asked suspiciously. Kudou fidgeted taking a seat next to him, perhaps the shrunken teen was nervous…

"I'll start at just after we arrived at the location in the notices then…" Kudou spoke softly, Heiji almost felt like he was being guided into a trance. Sucked into the chaos that was his life and what was going on two days ago… which when he and Kudou were in the same place tended to be deadly for the people around them.

Heiji found himself like a ghost following Kudou and himself through the last couple of days, just barely there in some ways and in others not. Starting with when they had finished cracking the challenge codes given to Kudou and Kogoro and put the limited information together to create an address and a time.

"Hattori, this doesn't sound like anything to be concerned over. It's a party invitation for all intents and purposes!" Kudou spoke in a dry tone, "I thought this was a murder case or something. How disappointing…" The smaller detective collapsed into his favorite chair in the manor library. Hattori found his cheeks flushing and his eyes wandering, it was embarrassing to have made such an assumption.

"It's not like things don't have a tendency to turn violent when the two of us are in close proximity Kudou," he pointed out dutifully, "things also have a tendency to die at will around us as well. I figured I might as well skip all the melodrama and go straight to the obviously something's wrong part, is that a crime Kudou?" The shorter detective was staring at something on the floor, Heiji found himself following Kudou's line of sight to a fresh bloodstain. "Is that blood?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you, trust me. As for it being a crime, not as long as you buy me the coffee I was fully prepared to consume before this ordeal started," there was another sigh, "I wonder what will await us at this party tomorrow…"

He felt the need to interrupt Kudou now, he remembered this, and it wasn't what he had asked the shorter detective to bring him up to speed on. His mind resurfacing back in the hospital, evidently the end result was not what Kudou had wanted or expected.

"That's not what I asked to hear Kudou," he interrupted. Kudou scowled at him, it almost made him shiver. The smaller detective was emitting a very dark cloud of emotions, it was so unlike the person that Heiji had come to know that he blinked a couple of times. Then the phone rang, Heiji felt himself jump at the shrill and sudden sound, but Kudou didn't even flinch. He had just brought the phone to his ear when Heiji remembered how rude the other was being, "Is it someone I know?" he called obnoxiously loud.

"Hang on, no Heiji," Kudou looked annoyed, Heiji smirked. It was kind of funny annoying the pint sized detective like this.

"Is that Ran? Going to blow her kisses?" he could see the red crawling up the small detective's face.

"I have to take this—no it's not Ran." he growled out.

"A secret admirer then?" Heiji called back, he watched the child sized fingers working around his tranquilizer watch. The red shifted scarlet, and Kudou's fingers twitched.

"What? No it's not a… I'll kill you myself," his face went a version of pink, then a deep scarlet just like Heiji predicted. "No that's not a threat Heiji." It's a promise, came to Heiji's mind with the look that Kudou sent his way. Then Shinichi's face went ghostly white in a matter of seconds, he looked at the phone in mild horror, realizing that the person at the other end of the line had heard his threat.

Then Heiji decided right then that it made perfect sense to get out of the bed and make a grab for the phone. Kudou jumped back, his eyes widening and the color rushing back to his face as he hauled the cell phone quickly out of Heiji's reach. "NO, don't you dare…" He backed away towards the door in slight horror and vast irritation. "I'm walking away now," he stated flatly and the door slammed shut in the child-sized detective's wake.

Heiji choose in that moment to recall the conversation they had when entering Kudou manor, the one about old sayings. He was suddenly quite mortified—Kudou had only told him that this man was a close acquaintance of his, and an ice drama queen, if it was indeed that man again, and Heiji had once again implied that that person was attracted to the pint-sized-detective.

Maybe this guy was a CIA or FBI agent, and that's why Kudou didn't tell him who it was. Or maybe Kudou had a secret boyfriend that no one he knew about… Maybe he was Kaitou Kid… or Kami sama… maybe it was both of those last two… Heiji cringed and buried his face in his hands. Kami-sama, he hoped not. CIA, FBI, please, please, please, he hoped.

As Kudou walked back into the room, with his brow furrowed Heiji wasn't sure what think. The detective pocketed his cell phone, and his expression was uneasy. "Where was I?" The mini detective started, he was visibly distracted but still functioning, so whatever the person on the other end of the line had said wasn't terribly traumatic news at least. Heiji hoped.

"Tell me who you were on the phone with," Heiji cajoled, "it's the man with the broken arm, isn't it?" Heiji continued asking persistently, "Kudou, who else could it be?" Kudou Shinichi's face smoothed into neutral blankness, and it was more threatening than any show of emotion Heiji could think of, because it gave Heiji absolutely nothing to read. "Come on, Kudou, what did I do to deserve that?"

"Hattori, something has come up with the case." Kudou's face broke slightly when he gave him a look, "And Hattori? About the man with the broken arm—just pray you never meet him."

"Why?" he questions quickly, before the other can completely walk away. Before he could leave him to his unrelenting boredom for the rest of the evening.

Kudou Shinichi, ever so mysteriously, just shrugs in response.

"Do you remember our conversation about famous phrases? Well rather than the one about women scorned, this one was really quite simple. As to the quote that I was referring to before, it was a play on the quote 'to the man who only has a hammer, everything he encounters begins to look like a nail,' only this man's hammer just so happens to be a gun." Heiji looked at him confused, but could only shrug as he watched him leave. This was going to be a boring day after all, wasn't it…

SHINICHI- 2 hours later

He was still fuming about the confrontation he had with Heiji—how dare he start making assumptions like that? You never make assumptions without all of the facts. This exact element of Heiji's character was what made Hattori Heiji's deductions more comparable to Doyle's character Stanley Hopkins* than to Holmes himself.

The comparison made Shinichi smirk. Amused despite himself. He would say that Heiji was the Hopkins, while Haibara was probably the only one anywhere close to being Watson. He paused a moment, and that would make Gin… Moriarty.

He had to resist the urge to smile at the irony, because there were more pressing matters at hand. Why did Gin call, and specifically… which was he supposed to pack, Conan or Shinichi sized clothing? Shinichi sighed looking at his phone, he didn't want to bother the blond so perhaps he should just go with the safe route and pack both sizes… Then it occurred to him, he and Gin were of similar builds when he was full size, the only thing that was really off was the pants length…

He shuddered when he realized what he was thinking, borrowing clothes from Gin? What the hell was wrong with him? He'd be better off asking Vermouth, at least she wouldn't glare at him like he was nuts. He held his head in his hands, trying and failing to figure out what going through his mind, it certainly wasn't anything logical. That much was for certain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stanley Hopkins may or may not be who I originally intended upon, but he's supposed to be someone that uses Holmes' methods to solve crimes. He was mentioned in the first half of my complete collection of Sherlock Holmes, which is an interesting read but I do recommend listening to the audio books with the stories if possible. It doubles your comprehension of Doyle's written works. The only other character that might be good enough to be compared to Heiji is Inspector Baynes. Since I've only heard of Hopkins I thought he was the better choice over Inspectors Lestrade and Gregson. I also highly recommend watching the series titled 'Sherlock' released by BBC in July 2010. Its set in modern London with Sherlock Holmes characters, including Mycroft & Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson, Lestrade keiji, Hudson Okusan, and a mentioning of Moriarty . Be warned, the episodes are almost two hours long a piece. – my source for the name was Wikipedia under the 'Minor Sherlock Holmes characters' segment. (Sept. 2012 edit, the third episode of Sherlock tilted the Great Game is highly Moriarty centered. Very fun series! Two seasons thus far!)


	24. PART TWENTY FOUR- WHY RAIN AGAIN?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I do not hate children, I currently share a dwelling with a six year old, it's really.... really tiring. The Shonen Tantei are currently taking a lot of the brunt of me being annoyed at that six year old.

-The Following Friday…-

Kiddy school was the sort of boring that could bring about tears, Shinichi had packed the night before for the blond's appearance this afternoon. He had neglected however to ask when the blond was coming to get him, which he only realized last night at an hour unsuited for calling even murderers. He had left a note with his bag in his favorite chair, it was a brief explanation that he attended Primary School in an attempt not to draw more attention to himself. It also listed what time he got out, and that the quickest time he could be there was fifteen minutes after school got out.

He counted down the minutes with a secret sort of joy, all he had to do was make sure and ditch the Shonen Tantei before he got to the 'haunted mansion'. He snickered to himself, how they had deduced that his house had no one living in it was beyond him. He could always stop in Agasa's and take the tunnel over… that could work well. Then he frowned, unless the inquisitive kids found the door. Better not to chance that….

During the middle of his musings he lost track of the time passing and quickly found he was the only one not throwing himself at the door. His sensei was there trying to establish order, and she was failing at her attempt due to all the excited children ready for the weekend. Three minutes later he was headed for the shoe locker, the Shonen Tantei were ready and waiting for him. He sighed pulling his power boosting red sneakers out, if ever there were a need for Haibara's distractions it was now.

"Did you forget Conan kun? We're all heading over to Agasa Hakase's to get our badges looked over and to play the new game he just finished. Come on!" Mitsuhiko called. Shinichi sighed, following them for now would be safer, he checked his cell phone silently praying that there was a message he could use.

'Wait a minute, maybe I can use it…' he smirked. He had already told Ran of his plans, so she wouldn't be waiting for him to get out today. He shut the phone after sending a quick text, and two minutes later… The Shonen Tantei were surprised as Conan's phone went near ballistic. He looked at the message gracing the screen and sure enough, it was perfect. "Sorry, something's come up guys. Shinichi niisan wants me to stop by his house and grab something. Perhaps next time you can show me?"

"Is it a case?" Ayumi and Mitsuhiko asked looking at him excited. He shook his head, though it might be a case of insanity for him if he didn't get to his house soon.

"No, it's a gift that Shinichi niisan picked up for Heiji niisan. That way he wouldn't be in any trouble with Kazuha neesan," he dropped the solar powered skateboard down and shot off before they could pile on the back of it again. They had done this before, and it was sad how slow the poor thing went with 3 normal sized kids and Kojima Genta on it.

Their protests fell on deaf ears as he raced away, at least with the skateboard he could finally reach the gate handles. He shut the gates and raced up to the front door. He managed to trip over the suddenly existing welcome mat before his front door as he pulled the keys out. He let out a string of choice words standing on his tiptoes to unlock the door, making sure he locked it behind him he checked for any signs of disturbance. He was greeted by a familiar set of clicks, usually ones that would make most people nervous.

"Sorry, I hadn't intended to make you wait," Shinichi announced walking nervously towards the study. In the well worn chair was the blond assassin, reading of all things. He cocked his head to get a look at the title and was surprised to see it was his own battered copy of the Sign of Four. The Beretta laying in his lap from the earlier warning.

"Don't let it happen again," the blond looked up at him, "is that everything?" He asked eyeing the book bag sitting on the coffee table before him. Shinichi nodded, he wondered what the plan was. This shrunken detective however was smart enough not to ask and bug the assassin about it.

"I'm ready when you are," Shinichi spoke evenly. He was scared shitless right now, and he had just registered that he had left his power shoes on when he entered mere seconds ago. The assassin was in fact wearing house slippers, so it came as no surprise when he lifted an eyebrow as he noticed. A barely noticeable sly smile gracing his lips for a moment as he headed for the door. Shinichi grabbed his bag and followed closely behind. He had just noticed that the assassin was not in fact wearing black this time…

"Do I need to lock the door or can you reach?" the blond asked as they exited the door. Shinichi let an indigent frown cross his face as he reached up and was about to lock it when a different set of sounds caught his attention. He looked up at the assassin who had noticed as well, he was reaching for his concealed pistol. Shinichi blanched, careful to grab the assassin's left arm and tug him back into the manor.

The tug sent him to the ground with Gin almost following him to the ground, the detective swore as he shut the door again. He looked around, there weren't as many hiding places in Kudou manor as people assumed. The ground floors were too open, and there was nothing to hide behind that would cover both him and Gin. He pulled at the assassin's sleeve, leading him up the stairs in the study up to the second floor. The Shonen Tantei were coming, and Agasa did not know he was going to be there, let alone his blond guest, this was not a good situation.

The blond for his part was being patient with him, and Shinichi could only be thankful that he had stopped trying to pull his gun out. The Shonen Tantei had entered, they were loud and seemed to be heading towards the kitchen. Shinichi muttered to himself, he could have locked the door and saved himself all of the trouble. He got his phone out and sent a text to the professor, he needed them out before they discovered something and got themselves shot.

"Friends of yours?" the blond asked quietly with a raised eyebrow. Shinichi nodded, he led the assassin to his room, the only door of course that needed oiled on the whole floor. He cringed and the assassin only looked at him with a smirk. Shinichi wondered what he was going to do when he remembered the frequent trips of Kaitou Kid, and the numerous times he had confiscated things from the thief when he was being irritating. It was after the third trip of being knocked out with wispy pink sleeping gas while writing an essay for his actual classes that he drew the line. Only because he didn't notice the first two times…

"This ought to put a stop to their progress," Shinichi pulled open the drawer, sure enough the sleep bomb devices were on top. He had to wait for them to get close enough though. He gestured for silence from the assassin, who had taken a seat on his bed in the meantime.

-Just for giggles, here's a little Shonen Tantei time folks-

Was Conan kun acting strangely, or was it just her? Ayumi looked at Mitsuhiko, then at Genta, and then nodded back at her noticing the strange look gracing his face. The non-distracted members of the Shonen Tantei shared a look, they would cheer Conan up this afternoon. Ayumi had noticed how sad and quiet he had been since Haibara san had left. Perhaps Conan kun liked Haibara san the way Ayumi chan liked Conan kun?

The bell rang, Ayumi made her way through easily though the crowd at the door, it took Mitsuhiko and Genta a lot longer to get through. Conan had remained in his seat, utterly lost in thought it seemed. Could it have been a case instead? Ayumi looked over at Mitsuhiko with her hand raised to look like a phone, he was the first one to have his shoes on. He nodded catching her glance, he knew she wanted him to do.

When Conan kun finally made his way out to the shoe lockers they were all ready for him. Mitsuhiko had already called Agasa hakase, when the three of them voiced their concerns he quickly agreed to help. When Mitsuhiko finally spoke Conan kun sighed and looked pouty, at least that's what Ayumi assumed. Just when the Shonen Tantei thought they had managed to get Conan kun to come with his phone started ringing and chirping like a trapped bird. The shark-tooth grin gracing the smallest male of the Shonen Tantei sent shivers down her spine.

"Is it a case?" she spoke in unison with Mitsuhiko. The idea of a case to cheer up Conan was much better for keeping his attention. It hadn't taken her or Mitsuhiko very long to figure out that Conan was terrible at playing most games, so in turn the games the professor made didn't usually hold his attention long, if they managed to hold it at all. In fact, more often than not when she thought about it, Conan kun was always standing back with Haibara san drinking coffee watching them play the games with a sad expression.

She didn't really hear anything Conan responded with after the word 'no', but the expression on his face still confused her. Why was Conan kun's attitude so different after a simple text? He took off on the solar powered skateboard before they could question him further. Seeing no reason not to, the remainder of the Shonen Tantei made their way to Agasa Hakase's home. Genta kun was saying something about eel rice, and Mitsuhiko kun had countered with some random fact about beetles as they approached the gate to Hakase's. Then Ayumi heard noises from the haunted house next door*, it sounded like bickering, and was that Conan kun's voice?

"Conan kun?" Ayumi questioned softly enough that the boys stopped bickering to listen. Mitsuhiko and Genta looked at her confused before recognizing the smallest member of the Shonen Tantei's voice coming from the other side of the garden wall. There was a loud thud, (the kind that usually preluded blood-curdling screams,) then the slam of the front door, along with muffled voices. Conan had sounded panicked, Ayumi lead the other two Shonen Tantei members to the wrought iron gates she had found Conan in before. Of course there was nothing there outside, but the major change was what she was looking at in front of them. The heavy iron gates were now open swaying ever so slightly.

"Are you sure that it was Conan kun talking over here?" Mitsuhiko questioned, the house looming before them gave all of them the creeps. There was no blood, but the feeling crawling up Ayumi's spine told her that they needed to go inside and check it out.

"I would know Conan kun's voice anywhere," Ayumi pouted. She ignored the warning bells going off in her head and pushed the heavy gate the rest of the way open. When Mitsuhiko had a bewildered expression cross his face, Ayumi gave him a questioning look.

"Don't the gates on haunted houses usually squeak? Or at least make some sort of creepy noise?" Mitsuhiko asked. Genta laughed, he pushed them through the gates and soon enough they were at the front door. Ayumi reached up and turned the knob ever so slowly, the front door didn't creak either… "This one's quiet too. I'm starting to get the feeling this house isn't so haunted…" Mitsuhiko spoke quietly.

"Excuse us for intruding," Genta announced loudly, Ayumi put a finger to her lips. Mitsuhiko was straining to hear, there were footsteps coming from somewhere inside the house. Ayumi went through the door on the far end, the room was dark, the barest hint of light fluttering in through closed drapes. Genta tripped over the foot of a worn leather chair, so well worn that the arms had almost no texture left across them.

Ayumi carefully inched her way over towards the drapes, pulling it open slowly. She was surprised to see how clean the room was, and it wasn't as empty as they thought. It was full of books, they were only dusty where the titles could no longer be read from the ground. Ayumi then noticed two familiar names placed right next to each other, she looked at the two titles and her eyes widened. There was a creaking sound from upstairs, and soft footsteps across the floorboards. The books and their titles were quickly forgotten as she raced over to the bottom of the stairs.

She could hear Conan kun speaking with someone, at least she assumed that was Conan speaking from what she did hear. She ran for the stairs, the boys following close behind, something else was rolling down the hallway at the top. Ayumi took a deep breath, ready to scream if need be, when the she saw the glistening orb rolling across the deep textured carpet. She gasped, leaning down to pick up the jeweled object, but she tripped.

"Ayumi abunai!" Genta yelled, offering her a hand to help her to her feet. As he did so the gem flashed and pink smoke wafted up from the floor. "What is this?" He knocked the gem aside only for more flashes to go off around them, Ayumi looked down the hall at first she could just make out Conan standing at the end of the hall. She blinked and there were only shadows there…

"Conan kun…" she called as she fell into unconsciousness.

-Now the part we all wanted, Gin's perspective-

"Friends of yours?" he finally asked. He watched the detective try to survey the situation with baited breath. He was standing directly behind the detective, and he was trying not to think of how insanely short the Fox was at the moment.

The Fox nodded, he was still deep in thought during the action. Gin watched the mini detective visibly cringe as he opened the door standing before him, which happened to be a bedroom. When the assassin looked around realized with dark humor that it was the Fox's bedroom. That explained why the hinges needed oiled, the Fox was now a very paranoid Fox thanks to him. He smirked in the darkness of the hallway, the detective had obviously never stopped thinking of him.

The Fox started looking around, it was the expression that suddenly crossed his face when he reached a desk. He pulled open a drawer on the top left, a smirk crossed his weary face. The blond smiled sitting down on the bed to watch the chaos unfold, he was mostly certain that it was just a group of children, but if not…

"This ought to put a stop to their progress," the Fox pulled something up out of the drawer. The expression on the Fox's face was so concentrated he wondered what exactly he had just pulled out then threw down the hall ever so silently. He didn't have to make the gesture for the blond to remain silent, for he was also listening to the children outside. He also heard the thump of one of them tripping, when that occurred he thought he heard a name. 

The Fox was peering through the door, but when the smoke made its way back towards the room, the Fox made a break for the assassin. Neither Gin nor the Fox expected what happened next, the detective leapt up, invading his personal space straddling the blond's hips in the process. It wouldn't have been nearly so surprising except the Fox placed his left hand over the assassin's nose and mouth, his right hand covering his own face. The assassin was caught off guard by the the abrupt and considerate actions of the tiny detective.

He still wasn't entirely sure why the mini detective didn't just signal for him to do it himself… Then the thought occurred to him, it was just like how he tugged at him earlier. The Fox knew his right arm was shattered, sore, and extremely tender in some spots. He was making an effort not jostle it! So if Gin had been forced to cover his own mouth, he wouldn't have been able to grab his pistol because his hand had to remain there to cover his mouth. So… why did the Fox do this? It took a few moments for either of them to move, the detective's eyes widened as Gin's much larger hand went over his own.

The Fox didn't pull back his hand even after the blond placed his hand over it, the blond didn't know why he just held the other's hand there instead of holding his breath and batting the other's hand away. When the last of the pink smoke faded away from in the room Gin realized that the Fox had a nice rosy shade covering his cheeks and his eyes looking away. He took his hand off the Fox's to loop his arm under the detective, picking him up to move towards the window. It was a pitifully short and painful walk over to the window, he ended up stepping wrong on his already strained ankle causing his right leg to throw them both forward towards the wall beside the window.

With the small detective pinned between his lanky body and the wall, Gin was left with no other choice but to open the window with his right hand. He didn't have to strain with his reach to get to the lock, but there was a throb as he pressed against the switch. The Fox's heartbeat was quick in his chest, Gin was too busy watching his right hand fumble painfully against the pane opening the window to look at the expressions the detective was making. He brought his right hand slowly back to his person, cursing Anokata yet again for the prolonged injury.

"How long does that sleeping gas work for?" Gin whispered, fighting the pain into non-existence. The detective squirmed, he was still pinned against the assassin and the wall, and Gin was beginning to understand the rosey color crossing the detective's cheeks.

"I am… unsure," the Fox murmured into his hand, "the smoke should dissipate momentarily. The sleep bombs were from Kid, so they should last anywhere from fifteen minutes to an hour." The assassin raised his eyebrow at the shrunken detective, what was that tonality? He could have sworn it held something different than normal for the detective, was he angry about being pinned against the wall?

"This is not pleasant for either of us Fox live with it," he decided upon, however when he moved the detective in his grasp he realized that was not a flush, it was in fact a blush. He tilted the detective to get a better look at his eyes, which were clouded up with some foreign thought. The blush crossing his cheeks only getting worse.

"I'm not angry," the little detective mumbled, he was trying to look away, "this is just rather humiliating." Gin raised an eyebrow at the comment, why was he embarrassed? In any case they needed to leave this place while the going was good, and this window of opportunity was too good to pass up.

"I'm going to let you down, find me something to tie over my nose," the assassin instructed. He replaced his hand over his nose and let the boy slide down the wall slowly rather than harshly dropping him to the floor as he usually would have done. The detective scurried off towards a drawer pulling out a large handkerchief quickly, but he seemed pensive as he approached Gin with it.

"Would you like me to tie it?" the Fox asked. He was eyeing the arm that was cradled against Gin's torso so carefully, the blond nodded moving his right foot so he could squat down low enough for the detective to be able to reach. The Fox stepped forward and took a deep breath, he brought the handkerchief underneath the blond's hand allowing him to hold it in place as he moved to tie it in place. It was strange to have someone this close, let alone touching the back of his neck. It sent a chill down his spine as the detective brushed the hair off touching the bare skin just inside his collar. He gave the Fox a small warning glare and the fingers finished the small knot with a tremble. 

"Don't forget your bag," the blond said off handedly as he rose to tower over the Fox again. "We're going." He hid the fact that his ankle wanted to give from the abuse it had suffered at their expense, he wasn't going to remain in that house for any longer than necessary. When he exited the room he caught sight of the little pests, each of them passed out across the floor around the top of the staircase.

"Hopefully none of you roll in your sleep," the Fox mumbled into his hands behind him, "that would be a quick and painful drop down." The blond nodded, it wasn't hard to descend the stairs, he was going to hate going up the ones to the small apartment where the Fox was kept when he was visiting or being tested on. The Fox trailed shortly after him, judging from the footsteps coming from behind him. The assassin could not remember the last time he wanted to leave a place so much as when he opened that door and crossed the threshold to the outdoors. The Fox seemed to agree with him, considering the giant breath of relief he released when he crossed it.

"Agasa hakase," the Fox spoke evenly, "could you make sure to lock up my house when the Shonen Tantei come to see you later?" The blond held the gate open so the Fox could walk through without running into it, "No, I was meeting someone there. I'm fine, no… No, not them. I'll be back tomorrow or Sunday probably. Oh? Well that is interesting… No. I'll look into it later, and don't let Heiji in there. Yes he's still in town, he'll be here until he's healed up enough to go home." The blond wondered what was so interesting, and he frowned at the mention of the other Detective. The Fox hung up his cell and looked at the assassin with slight amusement in his eyes.

"What's so interesting?" Gin broke down and asked.

"Someone blabbed where my parents are staying and my father's latest book draft was taken. It was complete, but it had yet to be edited and revised," the Fox replied, a smirk broke out of his face, "if it was thieves they won't do them any good. It's all written in my father's secret language, full of riddles and swapped Kanji characters. Not so different from a court scribe's original transcripts."

"Amusing," the blond answered.

"It gets better, the draft was due in two hours, so he had to rewrite the entire thing from scratch," the Fox smiled, "and he has to do it with his publishers hovering over his shoulders." The Fox laughed following after the blond, "serves him right for harassing me." Gin gave him a confused expression. He smiled harder, "my mother's the one hiding it from him." The blond shook his head trying to avoid smiling in the process. Which was all for naught because the Fox started laughing again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: In all honesty, I have no idea if the Shonen Tantei know that it is Shinichi's house next to Agasa Hakase's. They already think its haunted, but I haven't seen evidence to show that they know for sure that is Shinichi's house. They might not connected that Kudou is Shinichi's last name, and Agasa might not have told them not realizing they didn't know.
> 
> Looking back at chapter 10 Rotten Apples which last featured Kudou manor- (holy was that chapter really that large?) Ayumi knows its Kudou manor, but I didn't reference anything about it being Shinichi's house then either. I guess this might be their chance to find out from the professor…
> 
> To any person that loves Slash pairings with Shinichi watch the end of this video on youtube! v=FOWiPhPhXqM&NR . All I can say is sparkly...


	25. PART TWENTY FIVE- KISS FROM A ROSE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An alternate name for this chapter might have been... "Are we there yet?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "It's Raining Men, Hallelujah", by fellow fanfiction.net author Asuka Kureru spawned one of Gin's comments later on in this. It was recommended to me by my beta, and now I am recommending it to all of you for reading and Favorite-ing.This about sums it up: "Conan already has some kind of corpse magnet power, but when Heiji is in his orbit the corpses actively come to them. From above. Witness." HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. You can find it on my favorites if you are feeling lazy. the story id is= fanfiction.net/s/6402346/1/

The problem with being involved in the situations that Shinichi often found himself tangled up in, was the people he ended up with in these situations with. Most of them were either clueless or dangerous, and the latter of which couldn't even hope to hold a candle to the man that was driving beside him. Gin was also cunning, which left Shinichi guessing at what was going through his mind. He hadn't been told where they were going, but Shinichi assumed that it was somewhere he was to deny ever going to.

The car purred, and despite the pain it was possibly giving to its owner, they were moving farther away from the city. Shinichi couldn't help but worry, he had never been so isolated, alone, with someone he knew to be a threat. Never mind that whole adventure in the air with Kid—he'd never been so isolated in his life. Help had always only been a quick shout away, but not this time. His mind kicked into overdrive with the panic, he knew roughly what direction they were going. He also knew roughly what speed, and judging from the lack of expression on Gin's face, who was likely to be there.

"Where are we going?" Shinichi decided to ask. The blond didn't take his eyes off the road, another indication of how fast they were going. They were quite possibly breaking the speed limit, probably going between 125 to 130 kilometers per hour…

"Somewhere Sherry suggested," the blond answered in a bored tone. Shinichi could not help but flinch at the idea, places that Haibara would suggest generally ended up with him either uninterested or in questionable situations working on a murder case. Usually the murder cases, not so much the uninterested, because that would imply he wasn't running for his life during the process.

"Is that so? Did she perhaps include some sort of solid alibi for us as well?" Shinichi muttered. Only once had he ever been accused of being the perpetrator of one of said crimes he stumbled upon, and once too much for his liking.

"What type of alibi?" the blond asked, barely glancing in his direction. Shinichi decided that perhaps he had best stop distracting the blond before he decided to break his word and simply shoot him instead. Although… that really wouldn't be breaking his word since Shinichi's own life was not part of their agreement. Perhaps he should elaborate…

"I have been dubbed the 'Murder Magnet' by the majority Tokyo Police Force. They mistakenly thought my bad luck at being at crime scenes was somehow associated with Mouri as of late," Shinichi started, "generally either I get kidnapped or end up in grave danger in the places Haibara suggests. I am just a little hesitant to follow her anywhere after the last time…" The blond quirked an eyebrow, beckoning Shinichi to continue his statement. "I'd rather not say, it still gives me shivers…"

"Sherry recommended a place far away from 'Hattori', stating that he was a catalyst to the 'Murder Magnet' that you already possess," the blond informed him rather bored still, "I see no reason why being a 'Murder Magnet' would upset someone…" Shinichi truly had to fight down his urge to laugh. Of course, Gin, as a serial murderer, would say that in response…

"Most people aren't the cause of said murders," Shinichi responded, "and it is upsetting to come home and find someone you cared about dead. That is unless you are the killer trying to get away with it, then you're just trying to blend in."

"You don't have to blend in if you don't leave any evidence," the blond smirked, Shinichi found himself frowning at that. He was going to have to stop walking straight into these obvious statements, it was somewhat embarrassing to discuss murder cases with the assassin. The blond found many of them dull, if not redundant. It also decreased the likelihood that Gin would ever be caught, judging from his comments and reactions he thought those who managed to get caught surely deserved whatever became of them. Not that Shinichi disagreed with him, but he also didn't agree with sending innocent people to jail for crimes they didn't commit. Better yet, using experimental poisons to shrink people into oblivion.

"So where are we going?" Shinichi asked looking out the window. His nerves were on edge from the last few minutes of conversation. Remembering the day he was shrunk to this size was never pleasant, and remembering that while discussing murders was not something he counted as enjoyable. The blond glanced over his direction, there was that sneer that scared the living crap out of Shinichi.

"Ask me again and the answer will be your funeral," the blond responded coldly. Shinichi wisely decided it would be a good idea to keep his mouth shut.

When the tiny detective next awoke he was surprised to be on a soft plushy bed. He remembered falling asleep in the assassin's car, so how did he get here? His backpack sat on the chair across from him, which further surprised him. Why hadn't Gin woke him up when they arrived? Shinichi remembered the pained looks crossing the blond's face as he fumbled with the window. He also knew that the blond's ankle had been visibly swollen when he slipped on his shoes at their first attempt to leave Kudou manor. If he was in that much pain, why had he shown up then?

"I see you're awake Fox," the voice startled him, Gin stood at the doorway with a neutral expression. Shinichi could see something with steam rising from it in his hands, was that? By Kami… the man had brought him coffee! "A peace offering for the earlier threat, don't expect an apology." Then he crossed the room, Shinichi noted that he must have taken something for his ankle since the steps favored neither foot. The coffee was placed in his waiting hands, and the blond was gone before he could even utter a simple thank you.

He examined the room. It didn't appear to be the same one that he used when he had last taken Haibara's antidote. Then again, he hadn't really explored that much the last time he was here. That coupled with the reefer that Vermouth had somehow managed to slip him… wait… Shinichi's mind kicked into overdrive. Reefer had another purpose besides causing hallucinations, the shrunken detective almost face palmed. The drug Cannabis could result in general analgesic effects, or in non-scientist terms, pain relief.

The real question was whose drugs did Vermouth use on him? Were they hers or the blond assassin's? Shinichi shook his head, from what he knew about the blond he didn't do drugs, he smoked like a chimney, but after living with Mouri Kogoro for so long, that didn't bother him so much. He sipped his coffee, running through different scenarios that could ease pain, and each time he came to reefer/Cannabis his mind refused to consider it. His reasoning was that Gin would never take anything that would jeopardize his mental capabilities. Something Shinichi would back with his life considering Gin had shot himself in the arm to avoid succumbing to a harmless tranquillizer dart. When he could no longer bear the guessing he slid softly off the bed, he would ask.

GIN

When the mini detective wandered into the room, his expression was slightly puzzled. He fidgeted, drawing Gin's attention from the newspaper he was looking over. This was no small feat to do when the assassin had to prop the newspaper up on the right side. His right hand was cradled in his lap, as carrying the boy earlier had left it rather tender… He had all but forgotten about his ankle with the pain that was shooting up from his arm. Not that the boy wouldn't know his arm hurt, the assassin had spent too many moments contemplating the mini detective's strange actions to keep from jostling the injured limb.

"You've been out for three hours, we have arrived at our destination, and no, there is nothing in your coffee," Gin spoke coolly looking back to the paper looking for anything suspicious. Generally, as a rule, Anokata was more cautious, but when some of his operatives decided to be less than discrete, he returned the favor tenfold. A newspaper hit-order was not unheard of, and Gin honestly didn't feel like arguing with the bastard about being discrete with such things. He was sore enough, and Vermouth had been testing his patience again prior to his earlier arrival at the Kudo home.

"All nice to know," the Fox replied, "still doesn't answer the two questions I have though. I cannot help I have been here before though…"

"Sherry said that you enjoy solving mysteries, particularly murder mysteries," Gin placed the paper down when he was content that there was nothing in it worth reading, "I have an interesting mystery for you to solve. There is a leak that will be silenced here soon here, if you can deduce how it happened without managing to tip off the police you'll get the chance to test the latest antidote. If not, I'm sure you can imagine the result of my gun pointed at your head." The mini detective looked rather surprised, but then again death threats coming from his mouth shouldn't really surprise anyone who actually knew the blond.

"I will try," the mini detective bit out, "what did he do to deserve dying?" Gin supposed that would be something important to the detective. If it would further influence his actions to what Gin had asked for, so be it. Besides, he was curious how the Fox's mind worked in terms of justice.

"He's a traitor actually, but unlike Sherry he killed several other operatives on his way out," Gin answered rather coldly, "I applied for the assignment, but the matter was taken out of my hands two weeks ago." As the best assassin he had been the easy choice, even injured his success numbers spoke for themselves. Vermouth had redirected the assignment after his injury, much to his extreme displeasure.

"I think my conscience can live with his murderer not coming to light," the mini detective frowned, "just being in your presence seems to be warping my judgment now…" He shook his head and headed back into the bedroom he had appeared from. Gin was left to ponder why he had felt the need to tell the boy anything at all, and more so why that statement was so amusing.

SHINICHI

When Shinichi found out he had permission to leave the room he was ecstatic, there were of course silent threats about what would happen if he got himself in trouble. It was a very familiar place for the detective, and it was one of few places that didn't hold a murder case he had been a part of, he realized. Not that it mattered, there had been terrible incidents in almost every place he had been to.

It was a remote lodge, Shinichi remembered that much about this place. It had a couple of interesting trails, and the lack of light out here was also perfect for stargazing at sunset. It also had a sinister feel to it at the moment. Gin had already told him why that was, but it still made shivers run down his spine. To know that there were at least two more black org members here-would he be able to solve this case without the police suspecting Gin or the other operative? He didn't know, but his current freedoms were as a result of the blond's little trust in him.

He was almost run over by a room service cart on his way down to the lobby. He flattened himself against the wall resisting the urge to do something that would attract the staff member's attention. He continued his trek downstairs, keeping track of the guests and staff alike as he descended. It was no wonder Gin hadn't wanted to leave the room, if Shinichi was right, he had carried him all the way up to there. The mini detective felt a small measure of pity for the assassin, even after Araide sensei had set his arm, the recovery was supposed to take almost half a year. With the blond abusing it like he was, it was liable to take even longer…

"Ah, Edogawa kun, it's a surprise to see you here," the voice was female, and vaguely familiar, "what happened with you and your friends?" He cringed, this might be Vermouth, but that was unlikely considering his luck… It wasn't one of his mother's disguises, that was for certain.

"Ano, who are you?" he honestly couldn't remember this woman. He had met a great number of people as both Shinichi and Conan, and keeping the two of them separate was becoming difficult. This time however he could honestly swear he didn't remember this woman.

"I am terribly sorry, you were with the Shonen Tantei at the time," she knelt down with a soft smile, "I was one of the people interviewed by both your little group, then by the police. I am glad the culprit was caught, and that no one else was hurt." Shinichi suppressed a little sigh, so this woman was just a random fan of the Shonen Tantei. There was nothing for him to get so excited over, not yet…

"Ah, sorry," Shinichi put his best Conan face and pretended that something had attracted his attention, "I have to go!" He waved, and ran off in the general direction of the trails. He knew if the blond caught him running, he was as good as dead, even with a good excuse. He was supposed to be avoiding being noticed for the most part, and this certainly wasn't going to help his cause. He slowed and tried to think about all the people he had just seen.

There was the old man that was probably in his early seventies, (late sixties at the earliest Shinichi suspected,) working in the lobby at the front desk. There was a young woman in her late twenties who was signing in the guests and running the stairs in the old man's place. There was a cook that was also running the room service, he was in his mid thirties. There was a groundskeeper, it was obvious he and the cook had something going on, or it was a one sided affection from one side. There was no one suspicious amongst the workers of this place. He soon found himself overlooking a cliff, there was no one amongst them that stood out. Then perhaps it would be a guest, he could see the lodge from where he stood. Gin's car parked amongst the others far down below, the black Porsche gleaming like a dark omen.

Only it wasn't just a dark omen anymore, Shinichi smiled softly looking down at the rare car. He had noticed that he wasn't the only one acting strange, the blond assassin had been strange as well. It was true that he was still highly paranoid, but he had started to stop his shoot first ask questions when all the witnesses are dead approach. The Shonen Tantei were harmlessly recovering playing games at the professor's house as proof of this, Haibara was alive, and so was he for that matter. Gin had also saved Shinichi's life, and provided back up for the shrunken detective despite his own injuries. The mini detective could admit it to himself, he trusted the blond, but he also knew that he would have to show that to the blond still.

Running around causing all sorts of chaos wasn't going to make this case solve itself, and the blond hadn't brought him here to see how well he solved cases. It was only now that Shinichi realized his motive for bringing him here. The blond was testing how reliable he was, not to mention if he even could keep the real results of this case to himself. It was a test of where his loyalties lie. Shinichi smiled, the blond hadn't lost his touch one bit. Letting him roam around the lodge was just more of the same. He would do his best not to let the blond down.


	26. PART TWENTY SIX- CASE OF THE TAIL WAGGING THE DOG

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There are a grand total of, well at least probably 32 characters in this chapter, of which I have had to painstakingly make up at least 27 of them. Using an excel spreadsheet and a lot of random stuff from the top of my brain. Gin and Shinichi are of course the main characters of this, but there are 23 people, not including the cops, who will be flitting in and out of this chapter, so please have patience with me. This has been a massive pain in my collective plot cogs, and a lot of familiar names made appearances. So points and shout outs to each name you can recognize, and there are a few freebies in there if you've been paying attention.

GIN

Gin was concerned, and it wasn't about the detective, which surprised him. No, he had a feeling that had been troubling him since word reached him of Numabuchi's escape. When he escaped their custody Gin had the suspicion that he had an inside accomplice inside of the organization. He was no longer in a position to counter it before it got out of hand due to his being out of the main base of operations, he told Vermouth not to transfer this assignment regardless of his condition, but of course she did so just to piss him off.

He was here now to pick up the pieces, but he was also smart enough to realize that they would probably try to frame this murder on him. It would kill two stones with one, only they hadn't taken the boy detective into account for their scheme. Kudou Shinichi, the modern age Sherlock Holmes would get to the bottom of any case, and he already knew that Gin didn't intend on killing this rouge agent. The detective was also out investigating without him, as long as he laid low while the detective looked into everything things would be fine.

As 'Edogawa', the Fox had enough plausible deniability (because those stupid policemen thought the brat was too young to think or do such things), that nothing would be blamed on him, and through Gin's research he also knew that the Fox knew more than enough police officers who would listen to him.

With the meddling Fox working murder cases as often as he did—and with such undeniable successes in the field—he would get the benefit of the doubt under most circumstances, despite his appearance. So, all should go according to Gin's plans, as long as the boy detective didn't attract too much attention on his own. He mentally went through a list of agents who could take out a target under these circumstances.

Vodka had done what he could by getting him the address and time, the rest was up to Gin, and by default, the boy detective. Speaking of which, that had better be him at the door, otherwise there were going to be two bodies found here this weekend.

SHINICHI

The boy detective found himself severely puzzled, he had been gone for several hours, and he had yet to catch sight of the blond. None of the guests or staff looked particularly suspicious… well, there was something suspicious, but not of the criminal sort. The groundskeeper was definitely chasing after the cook, and it was not as one sided as the cook wanted the rest of them to believe. The young woman that signed in the guests was the old man's granddaughter. The whole scheme of things was so intertwined it took about twenty minutes of observation to figure out, the guests were another matter.

There was a group of businessmen that had been sitting in the dining room when he walked by, their discussion was so heated that Shinichi was surprised no one was coming to blows. The arguments were so varied that had he been a normal child he wouldn't have been able to keep up with the changing topics. He doubted that Ran would have been able to keep up either. There was an older woman that kept pinching his cheeks, she also had a distinct English accent underneath her very clean Japanese.

There was a couple that was so deeply engrossed in themselves he doubted they would have noticed Gin walking by on a bad day with a semi automatic rifle in plain sight in hand. That left the nature enthusiast, he wasn't the cheek pinching horror that was the older English woman, but close enough. He specialized in Fungi and bugs, and Mitsuhiko would have been in heaven with the man's conversation. Shinichi preferred chemistry and was rather bored by the whole ordeal.

He walked back to the room, his mind deep in thought. There was no one in particular that would commit this crime… Wait, had he just walked in without knocking for a second time that day? Sure enough there was the sound of a pistol being cocked, Shinichi sighed to himself, he would need to stop doing that if he wanted to live past the age of 17 for a second time.

"Sorry, just lost in thought," the shrunken detective announced, "how's the arm?" The resulting clicks told him that assassin hadn't been expecting company. Shinichi realized there was probably more to this than Gin had told him, he didn't expect the assassin to tell him either.

"You were gone longer than I expected, did you find out anything useful?" the blond questioned, Shinichi sat down on the plush chair. The blond raised an eyebrow, it sent a shiver down his spine. The mini detective felt his cheeks flush, he hadn't gotten nearly as much information as he wanted, but it was about as much as he normally had before the case occurred.

"Not really, just a bit of background on everyone here," Shinichi sighed, he wondered how gruesome this would get, and when it would begin. Kami sama, he was already getting wound up for the blood curling scream, the assassin looked at him probably noticing just how tense he was.

"Pathetic," Gin muttered, he must have had an inkling of who was involved. Shinichi was tempted to ask, but from the expression gracing the assassin's face he probably wouldn't give him a straight answer even if he did ask. He pouted, hoping the man wouldn't get to overly annoyed at the expression, but he couldn't help it. This was frustrating.

"I just spent most of the day surveying the area and the people here. I recorded every car and matched them up to perspective owners based on observations. I also discovered that the cook and the groundskeeper have a quiet affair going on, probably because the granddaughter of the proprietor doesn't approve two men being together," Shinichi rambled, he missed the amused expression crossing the blond's face, "I would say the majority of the information I gather about a case is during the case not before. Seeing as you didn't provide any place to start I did a preliminary investigation, the results were more or less fruitless." He flopped backwards onto the chair in irritation.

"Perhaps I spoke to soon Fox," the blond murmured, "but we shall see later. For now you should go down to the lobby and retrieve dinner. I have no intentions of walking down those stairs any sooner than necessary." Shinichi had to almost fling himself upright to get out of the overly plush chair. He looked over at the assassin, he looked almost as tense as Shinichi had earlier. He was at the door when he realized that he had no idea what the assassin would eat, let alone want.

"Did you want anything in particular?" Shinichi found himself asking cautiously. The assassin picked up a book, seeming to ignore the question. Just as Shinichi was about to shut the door there was a soft answer.

"Something with some spice," the reply was so quiet, but clearly audible. Shinichi was left on his own again, his gut rumbling and his 'murder' senses tingling. The shrunken detective descended the first staircase in relative ease, the second was a bit more complicated… The old English woman was going down to dinner as well, and Shinichi wanted to pass on his cheeks being forcibly removed from his jawbone yet again.

He managed to slip into the dining room without too much fuss, mostly because a group that seemed to have just arrived. Full of mostly women, most of which Shinichi thought looked familiar, playing dumb he decided to eat amongst their group. The assassin hadn't really told him when he was expected back, and as long as he was gathering information he didn't expect to be in too much trouble.

"Um, pretty young ladies…" Shinichi paused in what seemed like hesitation while he pulled on his best Conan face, "may I eat with you all? My guardian is feeling unwell tonight, and I really don't want to eat all by myself." Maybe he was chumming it just a bit, but flattery was always the best way to young women's hearts. Or so Ran told him times ago… Or was it his mother when she taught him how to divest people of their candy when her sweet tooth kicked in? He mentally shrugged, it didn't matter so long as the method worked.

As Shinichi made his way back to the room from dinner he went over the new arrivals. The six girls he had sat with were part of a girl group, their names were Reika, Miku, Tsukiko, Aiko, Sayuri, and Nayomi. With them were three men, their manger, the drummer, and an upright bass player. The boys had eaten at a table by themselves, so Shinichi hadn't gotten much for information about any of them. Except that the drummer was Sayuri's older brother, and Reika's older brother was the cook. None of that was particularly important, but the two other men… They had made him nervous, despite the fact he was surrounded by several witnesses he wanted Gin a little closer than three floors away.

One looked to be a journalist, upon further investigation Shinichi found out his name was Tanaka Masuru. With some special bribing for the girls, most were huge undying fans of the Night Baroness, they walked upstairs with him. He was also given six nosebleed worthy thank you hugs. He walked up the final set of stairs, avoiding the eyes of other guests and snuck into the room he where Gin was. He was careful not to squish the dinner that Reika had carried most of the way for him. The assassin looked up at him, it was the third time he hadn't knocked today, and the pistol was pointed his direction.

"They have arrived, those ones you were talking about," Shinichi passed over the plate. Gin moved the pistol aside to take the plate, glancing back at the laptop he was looking over. He looked at it with a raised eyebrow, and Shinichi wondered if maybe he didn't like it or something.

"So it seems, now we only have to wait for them to make a mistake," Gin remarked, Shinichi nodded. The blond looked at the food skeptically for a moment before trying a bite. One of his eyebrows raised, Shinichi wondered what was wrong, "it's still warm…"

"Of course. I asked the chef, and he agreed to make something for you when I finished. At first he wasn't going to, but Reika convinced him it was in his best interests to do as I requested," Shinichi smirked, "his sister was one of the girls I was sitting with at dinner. I arranged for my mom to introduce their group to a good producer later. They happened to be very big fans of hers. It wasn't a problem." The blond looked back to the food with a softened expression, being as tired as he was, and Shinichi wandered off to get ready for bed.

GIN

He was surprised that the Fox had actually brought him warm food, and it was spicy like he requested. He was amazed at how well it tasted, the cook was competent at his art at least. He started on the dish before he was finished reading through Sherry's new proposal for the next antidote, it had altered the stability of the current one, and perhaps made it a permanent solution to this problem. Gin agreed with the theories she was using to edit the drug, but it still didn't fix the problem. It attacked cells at a cellular level, the simplest solution was an antivirus that removed the drug, at least that's what the assassin thought.

Sherry and he had actually gotten in such a spat over it that Vodka and Vermouth had to separate the two. Sherry later recanted the statement, only after testing his theory. That was when she suggested taking Shinichi here as backup, Vodka would not have been useful. He likely would have set off alarms and concern, were he to do the things that the Fox was well practiced at. His observational skills weren't as high either. Even if he didn't know who he was watching, the Fox could identify when something wasn't what it claimed to be.

It surprised him when he looked down to find he had finished eating without realizing it. He could taste the remnants of the dish on his lips. It had been a long time since he eaten his food without realizing it, but he supposed it wasn't a bad thing. He got up to thank the Fox, making his way towards the room. He found the Fox passed out in one of the beds. It seemed that the day had taken its toll on the child sized detective. He washed the plate off and looked at the clock, it was later than he expected, but still early enough to catch people off guard.

He made his way to the door, placing the plate aside there for later and slipped on his shoes. Key in hand he made his way into the hallway, slipping the key into his pocket securely before making his way downstairs.

TWO PLOTTING SUSPECTS FOR YOU:

It was quiet outside, well besides the chirping bugs, and the two of them were glad. There were things to discuss, and people to avoid. The journalist was smoking again, a grimace crossing his face. His associate was shaking almost like a leaf, his face pale and his eyes searching about hurriedly. The journalist wasn't much better, but he knew the situation would only degrade from here if they didn't get it under control soon.

"Chosokabe, we don't know if it is actually his car, and wouldn't he normally be out surveying the area if he was here to interfere? Relax," the journalist remarked tapping his cigarette against the provided ashtray lazily. "besides if it is him, perhaps we can use this event to get rid of him for good."

"What are you saying Tanaka? That we set him up?" Chosokabe whispered, his eyes bulging to resemble a Shi Tzu's. "Impossible, he'd kill us before we got the chance!" He was damn near hysterical, the journalist placed a hand against his temple.

"Nobu san, take a deep breath and settle down. If he is here your current hysterics are only going to draw his eye sooner. Relax," Tanaka repeated, "And, no one is infallible. Not even that cold bastard, I heard the boss got to him and no one's seen him since. His subordinates have checked in and the favorite claim he's just pissed, but I heard he's been injured. That's why no one has seen him at HQ." The other man calmed considerable at that comment, he was still wringing his hands though.

"Perhaps we could, but are you sure it would work? I mean… we don't really know his methods do we? That's the only real way we could set him up. We know what he looks like, and his overall personality, but not his style," Chosokabe spoke as quietly. The nervousness draining out gradually as he thought over the idea, "as exciting as the idea of putting him behind bars is, we have no way of guaranteeing he'll stay there." The journalist smiled, flicking his cigarette ash at the dish again.

"Leave that to me…" Tanaka spoke with a smug look, "I'll make a run for the necessaries, and I'm sure that some people will lie given a little positive incentive. You know what I mean?" The other man shuddered suddenly, and pointed behind the journalist. Tanaka slapped his hand down quietly, and turned to see the end of someone's long blond hair going around the corner. "Well I guess he is here, do you suppose he'll catch on to our little game?"

"I certainly hope not, I want to live through this process!" Chosokabe whispered, before sneaking away from the table to head back to his room. "Go distract him, he's not expecting you to be here!" The journalist nodded, putting out the last of his cigarette before following after the blond.

SHINICHI

When Shinichi heard the scream at just after sunrise he was already heading for the door, the blond assassin wasn't in their collective rooms. He raced down the stairs, avoiding the startled and grouchy guests that were blocking his way, at the door to the dining room he found Gin leaning against the frame staring at the woman the scream initiated from, only… it wasn't Gin. The man had the right pose, the right everything almost… except something wasn't right here. The child sized detective couldn't place his finger on it at the moment, but soon… Soon he would figure it out.

"What's wrong," he asked running towards the stunned errand girl. She was white as a sheet and quivering, Shinichi looked down and felt the blood drain from his face. It was the creepy twitchy man from yesterday, face smooth, and every muscle uncommonly still. Shinichi's small hands reached for one of the man's wrists, he was cold to the touch and not a single spark of life. He looked over at the doorway to see that 'Gin' had disappeared, he saw the cook from earlier kneeling with his coworker now. "Call the police, he's dead."

DOORS AFFECT OF MEITANTEI CONAN (We are going to run through a couple of points of view now. The timing will vary through each view)

SASAKI REIKA'S TELLING

When Conan ran past her earlier she hadn't been overly concerned, she followed after as best she could in her heels. She saw an unfamiliar blond standing at the entrance to the dining room. She barely caught Conan give the man a second glance before running in to help Ohayashi san, Reika supposed that this must have been the guardian that wasn't feeling well. She took a look at the man's face, she decided that Conan was trying to be nice about it, the man looked agitated and pale. She had just looked into the dining room when Conan yelled for someone to call the police.

She delegated that to Teru before he could object, and he spent the next five minutes giving the police directions to the lodge. During that time the blond had disappeared, for when she turned back he was nowhere to be seen. Conan was containing the crime scene, and trying to keep Ohayashi's granddaughter from tears. She eventually made her way out of the room to where the rest of the guests were waiting. Reika, now joined by Hiroto kun and Hatsu kun supervised the area. The bass player was stationed at the kitchen door, and Hiroto kun watched as Conan looked over the body without disturbing anything.

Katsume kun didn't show up until the police did, and Reika shook her head wondering what their manger was up to. The journalist that had shown up just before them was currently missing, so was the man he was speaking to. What really confused Reika was the blond sitting on the couch on the far side, he looked identical to the man she had seen earlier and she could see Conan speaking with him at the moment.

Only there was something different, when it was her turn for questioning Reika was still pondering it. It bothered her enough that her questioning took longer than it should have. The police finally asked what was on her mind, because clearly they weren't getting the answers they were expecting.

"It's just… something was odd about Ishida san… I can't place it, but I know there's something different between him right now," Reika explained, "Conan kun must have noticed to, he did a double take when he went in to help Ohayashi san. I just can't remember what it is…"

"Well if you remember don't hesitate to tell us," the kindly inspector instructed her. He allowed her to leave, and started up a hushed conversation with his collogues as she left.

OHAYASHI MIKI'S (the Proprietor's granddaughter) TELLING

The police arrived in a timely manner, when her grandfather escorted the officers in where they were waiting. She had been observing the actions of everyone, including the child who had determined the man was dead. He was a peculiar child, when the police greeted the child by name she was suspicious. It soon came to everyone's attention that this boy was the student of Meitantei Mouri Kogoro, if anyone could solve this murder it was him. The inspector and his detectives found evidence that pointed to the guest that arrived with the boy, the man registered as Ishida Yashuhiro. The boy looked confused, Ishida did not however, he sat calmly through their questions, but refused handcuffs.

Everything was going by so quickly, but that's when the boy surprised them all. He asked what evidence they had against Ishida, laying it before the boy created the greatest headache for them all. She couldn't hear the entire case, or the facts that the boy was bringing up. All she knew was that the kid had successfully bought enough time and evidence to get his guardian of the moment out of police custody. When they walked by she realized that perhaps she wasn't the only one fooled by his size and manners.

"You could have warned me," the boy stated in irritation, "good thing these men were stupid and uninformed. Otherwise this might have taken a lot longer." The blond shrugged, he still didn't seem surprised that he had been accused of murder. His expression was hard, and it terrified her because it looked like he was capable of murder.

"There was no point, you still have to solve the murder," the blond's voice rivaled the sound of gravel it was so low. "There is still something very wrong here, we need to check the body again." Miki couldn't believe what she was hearing, these two sounded like they dealt with death all the time. With Mouri's young assistant it seemed likely that he dealt with it all the time, but what did this blond do?

Before she could find out more one of the officers stopped her, they wanted to hear her testimony again. She followed them to dining room where they had originally questioned everyone.

"Ohayashi san, please walk through the events you witnessed with us again. Be very clear, and don't leave out any details," one of the detectives asked her. She nodded sitting down near the entrance. Her grandfather was speaking across the room with a different set of officers. The child was speaking with the inspector, the seriousness there on both of their faces. The blond was nowhere to be seen.

"I was starting the morning shift, I was looking over the tables making sure that all of them were set up and prepared for breakfast today. I didn't see anyone in here, I actually tripped over his arm and that was how I found him lying there," Miki spoke softly, "his face was pale, comparable to the whiteness of a sheet. I screamed and was just frozen in that spot. A couple minutes later that little boy had us call the police saying that he was dead." The police nodded, it was the same story as before after all.

"Now we need to ask you something very specific. Ishida san, who passed you with Conan kun, did you see him at all before we brought him into this room for questioning?" the detective asked. Miki thought about it, it hadn't seemed odd at the time, seeing as she had just screamed.

"Yes, I saw him leaning against the doorframe looking in when I heard Conan run towards me. But…" she didn't really know why this bothered her, "he wasn't wearing the same outfit. The one from then was darker, and his hair was loose." The police exchanged looks, was this what Conan had mentioned? The inconsistencies on the blond's looks and whereabouts?

"We have one final question for you Ohayashi san. When you say you saw him leaning against the doorframe, can you show us how?" the detective asked with a masked expression. As soon as Miki showed them, the patrolman took off running. She was so utterly confused she nearly ran into the blond as she was turning around, he pulled back at the last minute. The scowl gracing his face as he twisted one arm out of her way, Conan was already there looking worried.

"Daijoubu?" he asked hesitantly. Miki backed away as he growled out his answer.

"Does it look like I'm fine?" the kid looked down shaking his head. He didn't seem surprised, "don't ask me stupid questions, I am not in the mood." He walked off towards the officers, and Conan gave her a soft knowing smile.

"You missed his arm right?" the child asked quietly, she nodded confused. The boy didn't elaborate as he followed after the blond. There was a giant commotion outside the front doors, followed by the loud crash of something breaking by the parking lot. Miki looked out the window, it was a strange man with an egg shaped head. He was holding the back of his head and grinning like an idiot. He was making his way towards the front doors of the lodge, so Miki pulled the one closest to her open as the man tripped over the threshold. He landed with his arms spread as if he landed in a pool doing a belly flop rather than as he had simply tripped.

"Never fear, Yamamura Keibu is here to save the day!" the strange man clamored out enthusiastically as he rose to his feet. Several of the officers already present groaned quietly. Conan kun had stopped mid step with a semi mortified look on his face, Miki herself was just confused. Wasn't that other polite man the inspector on the case? Conan was racing off shaking his head with a frown before she could ask.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TO BE CONTINUED IN PART 27- INSPECTOR WHO?
> 
> It should be fairly obvious by now that my favorite scheme for naming chapter titles is song titles. This one is a Rin and Len Kagamine song. The title is the rough translation, and here's a link if you want to know why I picked it this time, v=oBsN1xn0FZc. I don't foresee a lot of time for Shinichi and Gin to truly interact this chapter, and thanks to that song Shinichi now has a new problem to deal with as he's running around trying to figure everything out.


	27. PART TWENTY SEVEN- INSPECTOR WHO?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some artistic liberties taken, but seeing as we are Detective Conan fans it's not much of a stretch to reach out and 'borrow' a concept from something Sherlock Holmes related right? Hopefully I did this case justice, and I hope to all levels, in all different religions, and everything else that I never, Never, NEVER, EVER have to work with Yamamura Keibu again. He's not good for plot, he's like eating French fries every day of the week and expecting not to have high cholesterol or to be the size of a barn…. Anyways, on with the case. Before I shoot Ya-… wait, can I shoot Yamamura…. Probably better not…. Darn.

YAMAMURA KEIBU

As he entered the scene he was greeted by all manners of reactions, the first and most obvious of these being the face of Mouri Meitantei's apprentice. There were several non-police members running about, and he cocked his head to the side looking for one of the police detectives working the case. He approached the dining room, feeling an utter chill run down his spine as he entered. Takeya Keiji seemed to be in charge of situation thus far, so Yamamura made his way over to the officer looking over the crime scene as he did so.

"Keibu," the man looked at him with an odd look, "what happened to your forehead?" Yamamura wrinkled his eyebrows in confusion, he had tripped, but what was new about that?

"I tripped, not that it matters, where are we on the case so far Takeya?" he asked in all seriousness. Although it was hard for the newly promoted inspector to be serious, he found looking at crime scenes was interesting, bouncing from one piece of evidence to another was so enthralling…

"We have the deceased, who signed using an alias and was found this morning around what appears to be 5:30 am. Found by the owner's granddaughter as she started her morning shift in the dining room," Takeya san answered opening his small notebook, "she tripped over his arm, then screamed. Drawing the guests downstairs, where Conan kun, that's Mouri Meitantei's apprentice, announced the man was dead and called us in. There are also several inconsistencies pertaining to a few individuals, but it is clear that with Conan kun running down the leads those should be cleared up right away."

"Why are we letting Mouri's apprentice gather this evidence when we have several officers here on location?" Yamamura asked, slightly confused that any of them thought that was okay to allow.

"There are circumstances that only Conan noticed, but was indeed correct about that our own detectives missed. One lead to the accusation of his current guardian being the killer," Takeya spoke quietly, "which has since been proven false, but in order to lure out the real killer Ishida san has agreed to play along with our ploy in the meantime. If we continue to investigate it would make the real killer only more cautious, and it would also reveal what we know that makes it impossible for Ishida san to be the killer. With Conan kun investigating it, the killer might let his guard down and make a mistake like he did earlier." Yamamura could agree with this train of logic even if it seemed overly complicated and less than regulations to allow it. The detective was about to turn away when Yamamura spoke again.

"I still have one more question, why are there all these people running around just outside our crime scene?" he asked looking over the dining room curiously.

"I am unsure of that myself Keibu, perhaps you should see to it?" he suggested going back to his work.

SHINICHI

The last time he had seen that idiot inspector had been more than enough for him, but to see him again now? And as the lead on this case, that was a very bad omen. Yamamura Keibu actually made Kogoro look like more like his reputation fit, Shinichi was going to have to work a lot faster if he was going to get Gin completely cleared. Although there were three things he didn't understand, and these things bothered him as he went to rejoin the blond. What this inspector was about to allow only made Shinichi's opinion lower about Yamamura. As a rule, the main suspects of the case are not permitted to view the body of those they are suspected of killing, lest they remove crucial evidence. Yamamura Keibu had actually allowed Gin to view the corpse, with only 'Conan' to supervise, not that he was entirely complaining given the rest of the circumstances of this.

Gin was getting rather cranky, he had pulled the muscles in his arm when he dodged the granddaughter earlier. Shinichi could hear him fiddling with the pistol behind his cast, bidding his time. This was going to make things vastly more complicated with the assassin currently wound up tight like a top. The assassin was currently sitting in a room with a police man supposedly guarding him, really it was just someone to keep an eye out for anything suspicious and to have a solid alibi incase anything else went wrong. Conan was allowed to pass without much hesitation on his part.

Gin looked up when he entered, pulling his left hand out into plain view once again. He was cranky and bored, Shinichi felt bad for the assassin, but it was one of the conditions to get him cleared. He had to have a solid alibi, letting the blond wander around gathering his own evidence wasn't a logical thing to do when he was a suspect. Even with the iron clad fact that Shinichi had proven there was no way he could have done it.

"We can go take a look at the body now, they are down photographing it and taking their evidence. Although, I am extremely hesitant to say it's a body if my theory proves to be accurate," he announced to the blond who made to stand. As he did Shinichi noted the light tightening of his jaw muscle as he stood, there was no other trace of pain as he walked towards him. "Are you sure they did this out of spite?"

"I am sure Fox. Unsurprisingly, people don't like it when their double crossing mentors are silenced then put on display for the rest to see. Not to mention they have a healthy dose of fear judging by the mistakes they made, to not know that was stupid of them. I'd say the only person more despised is that woman*. This only confirms they were in it together on his escape, otherwise I would not have been set up in the process," the blond spoke evenly, "I am sure your theory is accurate about the body, mostly because of your analysis. We cannot be sure until we check it ourselves." Shinichi found himself staring, and the blond raised an eyebrow at him in question.

"That was… You never seemed like the talkative type to me," Shinichi explained, understanding dawned on the blond. Suddenly the stone mask was set firmly back into place**, it seemed that Shinichi had touched a nerve with the statement. "We're ready keiji san!" He spoke in his most Conan like voice he could manage. The door opened, and the two of them were escorted towards the police cars, which also happened to be near the van containing the body.

Takeya keiji had promised to make it look like Gin was being arrested in an effort not to arouse suspicion. The other guests had been called into a room together on the far side that Conan had suggested, the microphone piece of his glasses slipped discretely into one of the potted plants. A microphone was hidden at the scene of the crime as well, he had been monitoring both, the real show was about to begin, the question to Shinichi was, would the killer realize his mistake in time?

DOORS AFFECT OF MEITANTEI CONAN

TAKEYA KEIJI- (Almost to the case conculsion)

When the newly promoted inspector entered the room Takeya had to fight the groan at his misfortune. Thankfully they had Mouri's apprentice running around to make up for the fact that this (*cough* idiot *cough*) inspector had been the one to receive this case. The boy was clever, and his reasoning abilities were astounding to Takeya, he wondered if his son could learn a thing or two from becoming friends with the boy. Then there was his terrifying guardian, taller than the average man, and he had the stony eyes of a killer. The lack of emotion that he showed at being accused, the lack of concern there was even someone dead, and above all that there was the fact he didn't try to prove that he himself was innocent.

Conan Edogawa had done in five minutes what it took a half hour for three police officers to confirm. He had told them that it was not Ishida san, and that he had an alibi. The blond had been setup, and badly. His alibi was the first thing that excluded him, Conan claimed that he was in the hotel room up until that night, where he was out for an hour at most before returning with the smell of smoke coating his person. The time of this trip out of the room? Midnight to 1 am, the couple that was staying at the lodge for the weekend confirmed his return point to the room as they were coming in from stargazing. They saw that blond at 12:50 am making his way, they even said he was moving rather slowly, up the stairs.

This might not have mattered except that the blond that everyone else, with the inclusion of Edogawa kun, was leaning against the door jam, his weight heavily resting on his left leg. In addition to that this blond that was leaning also was leaning on his right arm against the door frame as well! The clothing of this blond, while similar in height to Ishida san was actually darker than what Ishida san actually appeared to be wearing. The blond that had leaned there earlier had walked briskly away towards the stairs, also climbing the stairs without difficulty. This was witnessed by Sasaki san and her group, and her brother the chef of the lodge.

These facts when introduced to the facts that Conan possessed painted a very clear picture that even made Takeya doubt the blond's involvement. Ishida Yashuhiro had a sprained ankle and a shattered right arm, and he was out here at the lodge to help him recuperate from his injuries. He had accidently been given a room on the third floor with no elevator to it by the granddaughter of the proprietor. It was also very obvious to the officers involved that Ishida san did not want anyone to know of these injuries by the way he walked.

The Medical Examiner that came to check the body confirmed the seriousness of Ishida san's injuries and asked a series of questions that left most of them speechless. Ishida san was not on pain medication, and his ankle was in a state that most people would not put any pressure on it, let alone walk normally. They also had a confirmation from the doctor that had set his arm. Witness testimonies also showed he was showing strange behavior in regards to these injuries. However it would be strange to see someone acting so defensive when one didn't know the extent of these hidden injuries. It was also discovered that in addition to the swelling incurred by the continued use of his ankle that he also drove a manual vehicle.

Takeya and his officers now considered him an unlikely suspect considering his alibi and the fact that the time of the murder was between 4 and 5 am. Only an hour before the body was found, there was no way for Ishida san to commit this murder given those circumstances. So the question was, who went to such lengths to set up the blond to take the fall for their actions?

Their suspect list had dwindled down to a minute few, the journalist that had been seen with the victim by Ishida san, who might have actually seen the blond. His name was Tanka Masuru, and he seemed dodgy during his questioning. A few of the businessmen were drunk enough that they couldn't honestly remember what they were doing if anything besides sleeping, but no one remembered seeing them. Inoue san, the nature enthusiast didn't have a real solid alibi, but no one got the same chills from him as they did from Ishida san. Mostly they didn't have a whole lot of anything except minor finger pointing, and one suspect that had the most airtight alibi for the strangest reasons.

The guests were filing into the room slowly, none of them seemed to suspect it yet, that Ishida san wasn't the one responsible. The fact that Conan also had left the lodge when the officer escorted Ishida san way seemed to help the impression just as Conan had predicted. The girl group stood off together in the far corner, the businessmen in a different section, and the rest were placed about the room. The journalist was the one sitting closest to the door, while non of the others seemed particularly concerned. Yamamura keibu was seated with his back towards the group, he was going to attempt to perform a deduction show similar to Mouri Meitantei it appeared.

Takeya kept his neutral face in place, but he groaned inwardly at the idea. Edogawa kun said that Mouri San would be calling in about ten minutes, he had already spoken with the inspector about this, but it appeared that it would all be for naught if the inspector continued the way he planned to. Two minutes later, eight sooner than expected there was a call, this one from his officers outside. He visibly blinked at the information that he had just been provided, he hung up the phone and returned to his post. Four minutes later Conan shuffled in he appeared to be crying like any normal troubled child, but Takeya already knew this wasn't the case. It was all for show, and that was all part of the game.

The predicted actions occurred, Conan was immediately pulled into the arms of Sasaki san. There was slight concern towards the child and then the phone rang. They were so distracted by the crying child that the failed to notice that something crucial that was missing….

EDOGAWA CONAN- the Conclusion

As Shinichi entered the room bawling, his mother's acting lessons had almost paid off, no one seemed to notice he was missing his ever present glasses. He was scooped up by the cook's sister Reika just as the phone started to ring, he quieted down as Takeya keiji answered the phone and proceeded to put it on speaker phone.

"As you are all aware, a murder took place in the early morning hours here, we had to call in an expert to determine all the facts," Takeya explained, "If you all would remain silent as Mouri San walks us through the incident, we would all be most obliged." Shinichi smiled softly, the lights flickered at his signal, which happened to be the tranquilizing of one Yamamura Misao. As the lights came back on people had shifted, certain not so innocent ones more than others.

"Konban wa, this is Meitantei Mouri Kogoro speaking. My apprentice has briefed me on the evidence and the overall happenings of this incident. It is my understanding that the police have secured the room?" there were several nods and one verbal yes to this question. The culprit looked nervous, Shinichi decided that now was the perfect time to start confusing people. He left the room via the door behind Yamamura keibu, but not without slapping a hidden speaker to his suit.

"Is something wrong Tanaka san, you seem nervous?" Shinichi spoke naively into the bowtie, out of the speaker came Yamamura's voice. The man in question flinched, and Shinichi quickly made his way to where the hidden camera was broadcasting the scene to a small television set in the proprietor's office. Gin was already there, a wicked smile crossing his face as he passed the phone he had spoken into to Shinichi's waiting hand.

"Not at all Keibu, please continue," he answered with more than a little reluctance. Shinichi took the bowtie to his mouth again, adjusting it with a small smile, and turning off the speaker he had placed before by connecting the phone to the bowtie.

"Very well, the first things first, I will retell the event as it happened exactly according to our inquiries and the evidence," Shinichi started in Kogoro's tones. "We are still not entirely sure of the motive that the murderer had, but it will become clear enough as I explain this case. The murderer waited in the dining room for Chousokabe san to arrive, it was a prearranged meeting, the two of them spoke and the suspect poisoned Chousokabe san as he made to leave the room. The needle prick was found on the right side of the victim's neck.

"The victim's face tells us that he was not worried as he slipped into death, the police found that the poison used was made from dehydrated Rhododendron leaves. Then there is the description of the culprit that fits Conan kun's guardian at the scene," Shinichi paused, Kogoro who had never met Gin wouldn't know what he looked like, "Takeya Keiji, if you would go over the evidence involving that at this time." The police detective looked a little unsure of himself for a moment before stepping forward. He straightened himself up and looked towards the crowd expectantly.

"Our original suspect on this case was Ishida Yashuhiro san, Edogawa kun's guardian. There was the description of a tall blond man dressed in all black leaning against the doorframe after the body was found before he mysteriously vanished. Before the body was found only Ohayashi san and the owner of the lodge had seen this blond man besides Edogawa kun," the detective mentioned, "we suspect that Ishida was framed by the real murderer. We do not why he was framed, but the evidence collected suggests that the person that attempted to frame him did not know him well. The first fact that Mouri San wanted us to present was that Ishida san is in fact left handed, the blow inflicted on Chousokabe san was made by a right handed man. The second fact that makes it almost impossible for this to have been done by Ishida san, the killer may have dressed like him, but he leaned heavily on his right arm as the body was discovered, as well as his left foot given from the descriptions that we were told." The police detective scanned the crowd and found the exact reaction that Conan had described on a few faces. As well as the confused faces of several others.

"The reason that piece of evidence is so crucial comes from the fact that in addition to not leaving his room for most of his stay, Ishida san's right arm is on the mend from a shattered bone. Confirmed by both his doctor and the Medical examiner, he also has a sprained left ankle, the reason why no one had seen him up until the time of the murder. Except for five people present in this room at this time, and only one of these people alibi is unaccounted for during the time of the murder," Shinichi spoke into the bowtie with a tone that had half the room nervous, "the murderer of Chousokabe san. The culprit is you Tanaka Masuru san!" Takeya keiji motioned for the officers to arrest him, Tanaka looked to protest, but Takeya was not yet done with clearing the blond.

"Ishida san was in his room accounted for except for between the hours of 12 am to 1 am, his return to his room is solidified by two other guests as well as Mouri Meitantei's apprentice Edogawa Conan kun. He spoke of passing two guests smoking on the outer balcony as he went to retrieve his cigarettes from his car," Takeya informed him, "he recalls seeing you and Chousokabe san on the balcony together at 12:45 am, the last time the victim was seen alive. Or rather… Awake."

"According to the call I got, Chousokabe Nobuchika is actually the fugitive serial murderer Numabuchi Kiichiro. The drug that supposedly killed him was a special mixture that made him appear dead, he has already been taken into custody," Kogoro's voice announced, "when he wakes up he will be in prison. As will you, for your role in this, not to mention for your plan to blame Ishida san."

"BUT HE IS A MURDERER! HE'S KILLED SO MANY, YOU WOULD NEVER BELIEVE THE NUM—" Tanaka yelled as he was dragged outside to the cop car waiting for him. Shinichi looked over at Gin who was already working his way out the door. He doubted that the police would ever figure out whatever was about to happen now, because the blond looked beyond pissed.

"While that could be, you are the one who deceived the cops, so it is you who is going to jail," Mouri finished up, "now if you'll excuse me. I have important matters to attend to…" Shinichi hung up his phone with a smirk, he had timed all of this around Kogoro's favorite drama. He placed his glasses back on and ducked back into the room. People were confused for the most part, Takeya keiji looked over at him gratefully with a smile.

Shinichi deftly removed the microphone from the potted plant without suspicion, it was a bit more difficult to peel the speaker off of the dense Yamamura Keibu who was still out cold. In the end he ripped a piece of the annoying Keibu's suit off with the speaker. He made his way back to Reika san and her group to wait out Gin's actions, for he had no doubt the blond was plotting something.

The question was how soon would he hear about it?


	28. PART TWENTY EIGHT- ROSES ARE RED

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A/N- I was caught, of course by Zero Panda. My last musical chapter title reference was of course to Inspector Gadget…. ^^* It happens that I have a techno version, v=yxROItYAoXw I solemnly swear never to use the Sailor Moon Techno theme in any reference. Blame the techno, for this one has Roses are Red, sung by Aqua to blame. Currently I am stuck on the "what is love" 10 hour edition.
> 
> Continuation from the end of PART TWENTY SEVEN- INSPECTOR WHO?

The Fox had done well. He had successfully proven than he wasn't the suspect in the case, without doubt. However, Gin still had yet to eliminate the men stupid enough to try to frame him for murder. When he returned to the lodge the Fox was reading books on magic tricks and the art of deception. Judging by the look on his face, he detested the subject, and so assassin decided to interrupt before the frown became a permanent part of his expression.

"Stop scowling Fox, it doesn't suit you," Gin said evenly. His attempt at gathering the Fox's attention was successful, seeing as it sent the book unceremoniously towards the floor as the detective's face suddenly paled with an 'Oh Shit! Don't do that!' type of expression for the barest of seconds. It was difficult to withhold the snicker that wanted to escape his lips, and he seated himself opposite the Fox, but he must have made a face because according to the quick change of expression on the other's face.

"How long did it take you?" the Fox asked him after schooling his features again, "Do I even want to know?"

So, the boy had deduced his next course of action. He was flattered that the boy thought so highly of him, but killing two suspects under that much guard, especially this soon, was not wise. Even for the best of them. So he had dispatched of them yet. The fire needed to burn itself out a little more before the gasoline could be poured on again. Too soon and it would flare up in his face.

It was of no surprise to either of them that Gin would attempt to murder the two men responsible for framing him. In cases like this, it was inevitable, and thus, expected. Occurrences, like being framed for murder, and the consequences, such as the culprit's death should be expected in Gin's line of work.

Still, it would be better if the assassin stopped the Fox's train of thought now.

"Don't jinx yourself Fox," Gin voiced, he tossed the test antidote that Sherry had given him days ago for this occasion. He had only been watching to see which station the two 'culprits' were taken to. They would be dealt with very soon. Right now however… Gin had other things on his mind. "I had to pick that up from Sherry. As promised for your work, a temporary antidote." The detective seemed to finally realize what he was holding—as he hadn't taken his eyes off Gin even after he caught it in his hand. So many expressions crossed the shrunken detective's face.

Surprise, amusement, joy of some sort, then the one that surprised Gin, he ultimately settled on confusion. What was so confusing about it? He had done as Gin desired, and was rewarded as he was promised. Had the blond managed to miss something that he shouldn't have? Gin shook his head inwardly, this confusion must be attributed to something else and have nothing to do with the situation at hand.

"Thank you," the detective settled on, pocketing the pill. So it wasn't the situation then, it was more of complication about whether or not he wanted to use the antidote now. Gin stood and was rather surprised by the fact his leg had already managed to fall asleep on him. It was a rather awkward limp to the bathroom with the bolts of nerves waking up as he moved, though the detective probably thought was because his ankle hurt still. He just barely heard the soft rustle as the Fox slumped in the chair as the door shut.

Gin started up the shower, letting the water heat up as he carefully peeled the layers away from his right arm. He set the pistol lovingly aside as he worked his way through the shoulder harness sitting beneath the second layer. The process took longer than he wanted, but once he succeeded the rest of his clothing was much easier to remove. He checked the water with his left hand carefully, it was just below scolding, the perfect temperature to wash away a bad day. He stepped into the half bath whilst holding the bar on the other side, he had no desire to go slipping onto his ass now. He had enough injuries to contend with for the moment, not to mention the utter embarrassment it would cause if the Fox ran in to see it. No, he was going to play it safe.

After a couple minutes of letting his body adjust to the heat of water he started into attempting to wash his hair. He spent the majority of the attempt vowing to cut it short if such an occasion as this ever arose again. Scrubbing shampoo into his hair that had the overall mass of a small child was not easy with only a single arm in full working order. It wasn't a simple process, by any means. As he finished the tedious task of checking that he had rinsed out all of the conditioner, he felt rather drained. After scrubbing less than half of his body he abandoned the task and set to escaping the slippery zone.

Only as he carefully made his way out of the shower did he realize the careless mistake he had managed to make. His eyes shifted around the room, two towels, and his dirty clothing on the floor beside the tub-shower. No clothes. How the hell had he manage to do this?

He sighed, and busied himself with checking if the waterproof bag was still protecting his cast. It was, but it also rendered his right hand worthless for any task. After a few minutes of deliberation he tugged his waterlogged hair over his left shoulder, he then removed the bag, it was impossible to accomplish what he need with the towel with only one hand. As soon as it was secure, he ventured from the bathroom to the room containing his overnight bag.

He could feel the Fox's stare on him as soon as he passed through the sitting area to the bedroom part of their rooms. His bag had remained closed on the bed where he had left it, and he didn't remember saying anything while he walked, but there was now quite an amusing expression crossing the Fox's face, as if he had. The Fox was also a bright red, and his mouth slightly agape. Gin watched as he tried to shift his gaze and failed spectacularly. What did the Fox have to be embarrassed about anyway? It wasn't like he was the one who left his change of clothes on in the bedroom instead of Gin.

The blond could feel the water dripping from his hair over his skin and down his chest and back as he pulled out the necessary garments. He wondered what the detective was thinking, as his stare lingered longer than the blond cared for. After all, Gin had nothing to be ashamed of, he was fit and tall, and had way too much wet hair to care for, to continue the thought. The lukewarm dripping made his hair stand on end.

"Of all the times to leave my change of clothes outside the bathroom…" the assassin growled out in a halfhearted explanation, as his hair slid all the way back onto his back as finished leaning over the bag. The cast had remained dry, so the clean garments were carefully placed over it. He was on the way back into the bathroom when the Fox decided to do something other than just stare with his mouth slightly open with what appeared to be lecherous wonder.

"Did you need any help? With your arm I mean," as the Fox's red hue turned an even more amusing shade, and then the Fox managed to redirect his gaze to the floor. Strangely enough, Gin inwardly wanted that intense blue gaze back on his person, no longer caring if he himself was half naked or not. The Fox was visibly flushed from the tips of his ears down to his hands, and the blond wondered… Things that he had not wondered about in a long time.

"I doubt your detective skills gave you any practical medical skills," Gin decided on as a reply, he couldn't help the predatory smirk that graced his lips in that moment, "besides the examining of dead corpses anyways." He wondered what was racing through the shrunken teenager's mind, especially after that combination of expression and utter embarrassment on his part. Even more so than wondering about the detective's currently questionable conduct, he was wondering about his own internal responses to said embarrassment. Why, after so many years encased a frozen hell untouched by emotions, his heart had decided to thaw. Just a small part of his heart had decided to melt into a comfortable warmth that Gin himself was unfamiliar with. Something he suspected was connected to this Fox he had found.

He wandered back into the bathroom, closing the door with the softest of clicks as not to disturb their separate trains of thought. He pondered at the new expression crossing the detective's face. The flush scarlet of the small face but observant face, the dazed bright blue eyes that had stared at him so clearly before with something else, and the clearly visible tension running through the Fox's shoulders.

Could these be expressions of fear? Or perhaps something else? Either way his mind was too preoccupied with trying to figure out why he why he was so disappointed the detective hadn't taken the antidote when he gave it to him earlier. Let alone realize that the door he had shut so softly was reopening ever so slowly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys are so patient with me! Also, thanks to Jade, for filling in all the holes my brain left in this fic. There were many. Some of which you could trip and fall into, and there would be no sound left when you hit the bottom. I seriously owe my beta for making this readable, I had brain rot in the process... 
> 
> 9/29/12 edit: I was asked reciently on my FF.net account if I was abandoning this or not, the answer is no. I don't type on my works if I am not watching whatever influenced them in the first place. Meaning if at the moment I'm not watching Detective Conan I am not typing it. Currently I'm stuck in a Doctor Who induced rut, and gradually climbing out back into Detective Conan. The good news for the FF.net guys is that I have been watching it, seeing as I hadn't updated on there since June. Part 32 is done, and going through Beta stage, 33 is in progress.


	29. PART TWENTY NINE- THE WAY IT IS

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I am so late... I have no excuses. The artist for this chapter's song title is Bruce Hornsby, good song, you can find it at youtube under this extension v=GlRQjzltaMQ

It was astonishing to Heiji that Kudou had simply showed up in his hospital room, looking something akin to a kicked puppy. It was his downcast expression, the way he kept sighing, and the way he would glance out the window as if looking for something that simply wasn't there. Kudou was acting… like a kicked lovesick puppy. What had Mouri san managed to do to her detective?

"What is wrong with you Kudou, you're being awfully quiet for you," Heiji prodded, poking the detective verbally. Kudou looked at him with an unreadable expression and in response, he sighed with agitation before demanding, "What the hell is going on, that has you acting like such a… girl. You're acting like one of those love sick fans we get to 'gently' let down all the time. Did Mouri san say something to you?" Kudou finally moved away from the window and sat in the chair facing the hospital bed Hattori lied in.

"No, Ran didn't say anything to me. But I can't help but think she'd have some sort of advice on the matter," he almost mumbled to himself before he sighed. Again. "I feel so confused… It's like part of me wants to believe there's something human underneath the mask he wears for the world. There's other parts that just can't… can't understand his motives. There is no justifiable reason to kill another being. No matter what any of these criminals come up with, not one reason is good enough… and yet…" Kudou's next sigh was so heavy that it burdened the air of the entire room.

Ah. So that was it. "So it's the mysterious man with the broken arm then. CIA or FBI? I never did get the chance to ask," Heiji smiled and the pint-sized detective frowned. Wait, was Heiji mistaken? Kudou had asked him to provide a cover story to Ran and the brats, but who had the detective actually been with at that time? He had just assumed that it was the broken armed man.

"Neither." Kudou replied, "I really can't go into it Hattori," Kudou's expression made it look more like Heiji was trying to pull teeth out rather than just trying to get a straight answer out of him, "its vastly over complicated as it is. You knowing more about the situation really wouldn't help." Ah, while it wasn't an entirely straight answer, there was a distinct lack of an actual 'no' there.

"So it is about him. So what were you two up to this weekend, that has me scrambling for answers," Heiji poked verbally again. Kudou's face dropped visibly, and Heiji realized perhaps he should have let it go, but his inner detective shoved him forward with cruel enthusiasm.

"Remind me to harass you the next time Kazuha gets pissed off at you, that way you'll have a better understanding of this. I solved a case, and then I…" Kudou's eyes shifted towards the window as he thought of how to phrase it, "I screwed up. I made a mistake, and a costly one at that. Now… I'm pretty sure things are back to square one." Heiji raised an eyebrow at that, the phrasing and indications were of attraction and rejection. It was the delivery and the subjects that were throwing the Osaka detective off.

"Did you have a fight about your feelings towards your 'secret agent' man with 'secret agent' man? What about Mouri?" Heiji assumed this would constitute as stoking the fire, or pouring salt on an open wound and rubbing it in with cruel glee.

It seemed however that his fellow detective was feeling somewhat better, because he was getting it out there and not dwelling on it. The annoying sighs had stopped at least!

"Not so much a fight, it was like I was cut off entirely. I solved the case, he walked past me, never even thanked me for proving it wasn't him, and then he… he forgot his change of clothes," the detective blushed heavily and almost stammered before moving on, "since his arm is broken I wanted to see if he needed any help. So I did, I opened the door to ask and…" Suspense filled the air, and Heiji wanted to scream in frustration. It was like the evidence drying up in front of you with no clues on which direction to go. What the hell did Kudou mean by he forgot his change of clothes? There had to be more to this!

"And? What happened next Kudou?" Heiji realized at that point he might have sounded like a starved soap opera addict waiting for someone to tell them the next great plot twist. He mentally sighed, and made a note to apologize to Kudou for also acting like such a girl at a time when he needed a friend. However there were more pressing matters at the moment, and the truth must be found!

"And…" Kudou was about to continue when Mouri san and Kazuha walked in.

RAN

When she walked in to find Conan with that expression she mental checked over her Shinichi expression charts for what it might mean. She found that it was one that Shinichi had never showed her, and therefore one she had yet to place under any sort of category. Hattori's expression of surprise told her two things. The first was that Kazuha had not in fact told Hattori they were coming, the second was that Hattori kun really wanted to know what Conan had been about to say.

"How was your trip with Ishida san Conan kun?" she asked hoping that he would get some sort of answer out of the boy. Hattori's eyebrow raised, so he didn't know about Ishida san either? How was she not surprised, Conan kept secrets better than most Teitan Secondary level students did. "Conan kun." She gave it her motherly tone she had been working on, it was more of a growl than anything else.

"Ishida san was pleased to have my help, we solved the case he was worried about," Conan responded quickly, "Not without further aggravating his previous wounds. He is leery to be around people still, so I ended up doing a lot of the legwork, but everything happened just as he suspected." Hattori was scanning his statement as well, it was the same look Shinichi often got when he was listening to witnesses.

"Ishida san is it?" Hattori questioned with an interesting eyebrow, "so you'll tell Mouri san, but with me you neglect to give me a name?" Ran almost snorted at the amused look Conan gave Hattori, it was the 'but of course I would' look. It also told her that Heiji had indeed heard about Ishida san, but Conan had not used a name whenever they discussed the man. The hurt look and the understanding that crossed Hattori's face told her that much.

"Ran neechan needed to know who I was with, you did not Heiji niisan. She is the only looking after me," Conan's voice had a small comparison to Sonoko's I told you so voice at that time. How it raised ever so slightly in pitch, and was annoying to the person it was intended for. Ran giggled at the frustrated look Hattori kun used to convey said annoyance.

"I forgot, you still need a babysitter Bozu," Hattori looked like he wanted to say something else, but was holding his tongue. Ran was betting it was the affectionate 'ahou' he normally called Kazuha san. Conan looked mildly affended, but shrugged it off. Ran also noted that a very ugly retort was about to rear its head.

"Only because of my age Heiji nii-san, not like you who actually needs one to keep you out of trouble. Or danger," Conan's comment had its desired effect. Hattori attempted to launch himself out of the bed and straight at Conan. Kazuha, knowing Hattori kun better than he knew himself at times, restrained him easily by grabbing his ear and yanking the opposite direction.

"Don't get mad at Conan kun just because he's telling the truth," Kazuha scolded. Hattori's face went bright red as she released his ear and turned away from them. Conan was grinning like a smug idiot, Ran decided some retribution was in order. She ruffled his hair with her knuckles, and Conan's expression turned slightly pained, but no more so than when her father did it.

"A-tata-tch," he complained softly, "Ran nee-chan that hurts!" She smiled innocently, stopping the action momentarily, Conan looked at her slightly puzzled. She wondered what the look was about, because under normal everyday situations she looked to Conan for answers. What could puzzle her little mini Shinichi?

SHINICHI

This day was just not going well for Shinichi. Heiji had been irritating, but he was the mini detective's hope for an objective answer. Was Shinichi going crazy? He hadn't been able to explain anything to the Osaka detective, but Heiji instinctly knew how to question him and get to the bottom of things. Now that Ran and Kazuha had entered the hospital room his hopes of an answer were dashed. He would have to let his thoughts linger on that subject until it came to its logical and improbable conclusion. He knew something was wrong, but Heiji's observations had been both helpful and unsettling.

How could he be acting like a 'kicked lovesick puppy' after this weekend? That wasn't how Heiji phrased it, but it was how he implied it. It made the mini detective scowl inwardly as he considered the idea, but the more he considered it, the more it appeared true. He cared about what the blond thought about him, that much was true at the very least. He could not however concede that the feeling was love or admiration, maybe disappointment or fear, but not love… It made no sense.

Ran was ushering him out, and he was grateful she was taking some sort of action while he was preoccupied thinking on the matter. Heiji knew him, and he understood the way Shinichi's mind worked most of the time. The Osaka detective also knew bits and pieces of the stories around Gin. He did not know however that Ishida san was Gin who was also the very same Gin from the stories about him being shrunk. Objectively this put the other detective at a disadvantage for understanding the situation as a whole, but it also left him unbiased about the situation.

Heiji would call later, and he would wring the story out of Shinichi. By that time he would have made some sort of conclusion about the matter. Ran might have some advice on the matter, but he would have to ask when Kogoro was either drunk or out for the night. As they crossed the street back to the agency Shinichi wondered if perhaps he could ever make sense of what was going on. Why he wanted to change his actions during that one moment so badly, or rather his reactions…

THE CONTINUATION FROM CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT (as Heiji would say this chapter, "and?")

Shinichi slipped open the door, Gin was viciously snarling as he fought a particularly difficult knot in his hair. The tiny detective froze, it was the most human thing he had seen the blond do. He would have laughed had it been anyone else, but for the moment he was struck dumb. The blond was so absorbed with his hair he didn't hear Shinichi slip in, the detective finally met the consequences for not announcing his presence. A loud breath on his part surprised the assassin, he had been foolish.

Gin had him lifted up off the floor and pinned to the wall by his throat before Shinichi could blink. The assassin was on autopilot, and Shinichi realized this too late as he struggled to fend off the hand that was choking him. Slowly Gin's eyes widened as he realized exactly who was pinned against the wall struggling in his hand. The hand was withdrawn leaving the shrunken detective to tumble down the wall into a heap on the floor. His face paled as the assassin backed up stone faced, there was no expression on his features.

It made Shinichi's blood run cold in that instance, he was being blocked out and it scared him. He couldn't read anything from the blond when he did this, he didn't understand what sort of action he was supposed to take in response. The blond's stony expression was also more of a death glare than he remembered.

"What are you doing?" the blond all but growled at him. Shinichi attempted to back up, his attempt was rewarded with a swift bash to the back of his head. Dazed he tried to put together what just happened, there was a hand moving his head forward and checking the spot where… He winced as the blond's fingers probed the bump forming on the back of his head.

"Itai…" he muttered keeping his eyes closed. He had the assumption had just majorly fucked up, and he didn't want to make things worse. "I was trying to ask if you needed any help… itai." Gin's fingers brushed over that spot again, Shinichi bit his lip as his head was tilted up and the blond watched his eyes intently.

"No concussion," the blond announced in a dead pan, "I don't think you're in a position to be helping anyone at the moment Fox." Shinichi realized that perhaps he wasn't mad so much as in shock, the blond didn't do shock, thus the lack of expression. At least that's what Shinichi kept telling himself. "Trying to help with what exactly?" The raised eyebrow was a surprise, Shinichi thanked whatever gods there be that expressions were back on the field.

"It can't be easy working with that much hair one handed…" Shinichi trailed off, it didn't sound like such a good idea any more. Even if it had been an entirely innocent plan to start with, he felt his cheeks start to flush with embarrassment. "I shouldn't have thought about it… I'll leave you to your mane." The eyebrow raised further, the blond shook his head slightly sending the wet strands back over his shoulder. Shinichi felt his face heat further, had he just noticed? Oh Kami this was bad… "Gin… wait!" The blond had already made the move to stand, the already loosened knot getting ready to fail.

Before it could completely fail Shinichi had sprung to his feet, hands poised to keep the towel in place. The blond's skin was warm beneath his fingertips, and he could feel the assassin tense at his actions. One large hand reached down and took over for him, and as soon as Gin did that Shinichi was out the door. He had threw it shut and made for his bag where he placed the antidote in a protective case before having a mental meltdown.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Mental note, while Ishida may be Ayumi's last name in the series, but Gin's fake name has nothing to do with her. I was 'borrowing' the Ishida from Mitsunari Ishida after finding his character so fascinating from Warriors Orochi 2. Youtube video v=e1cWJXv_PLY will explain everything at the end of it, but his defeat an officer line is: "I should stop expecting so much". My favorite one of all time is Cao Pi's officer defeat line, "Why do they even bother?" See ya next time, Hittocere


	30. PART THIRTY- RIGHT HERE WAITING

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A/n: Disclaimers are in the first 20ish chapters if you're still looking for those. Sorry for the long wait earlier, but I hope not to make you guys wait quite so long.
> 
> Sorry for the big cut off there, but our favorite assassin wasn't following the program well. If you'd like to see what was cut just PM me or leave a review asking for it. I'll be glad to post it for you, but it's mostly insight to his perspective. You'll find out more about why Shinichi thinks he screwed up, but it is a series of mistakes on his part. First up is Ran and her view on what's going on, sort of. (2012: You'll find those Gin cuts on this account here guys! That's what all the hesitance as been on the other, getting this updated to catch up with it FF.net cousin)
> 
> This chapter and its title are dedicated to my favorite 6 year old annoyance. She's a lot like Ayumi, but she sings like Conan. (Very very tone deaf, we pay her and my mother not to sing). If you want to read more on that it'll be at the bottom.

RAN

She could tell something was wrong with Conan, even before he bypassed the agency and went upstairs. He almost ran into the door he was so lost in thought, Ran watched him turn the knob with a dazed look in his eyes. He seemed almost lost, like a cat put in a box taken somewhere else then let go. Did it have something to do with his parents? Or maybe it had something to do with Ishida san, but Ran realized that this had all started up long before Ishida san's involvement.

Ran felt a little sad when it occurred to her just how long it had been since the last visit Conan had gone with his mother. It had been almost 7 months since her father cashed that check, and like clockwork every 3 weeks a check arrived to cover Conan's expenses. It covered their monthly bills on the slim occasions that her father didn't have enough cases to do so. Ran had never heard Conan talk about them, she had never seen him on the phone to anyone explaining how is day went or doing any of the things that she used to do when she missed her mom.

Since the last trip he had taken with his mother Conan had been strangely withdrawn. Agasa Hakase said that the changes were expected given the news he had received from the boy's parents and from the boy himself. She was less than convinced he was okay, Ran mustered up her thoughts and walked into her father's agency determined to change something.

"Otousan…" her father looked at her over his newspaper at her, "something's not right with Conan." Kogoro placed his newspaper on his desk and gestured for Ran to sit on the client couch. He moved to sit in his usual seat casually, but Ran could see the tenseness in his form.

"Perhaps it's time…" he started to say something, but his phone went off. He answered it, and Ran waited for his caller to wrap up. Her father's face went blank for a moment, and he looked towards the calendar then at Ran. He covered the phone and looked at her seriously again, "Ran… I have to go out of town for the night, can you handle Conan for the night then?"

"Yes, but 'tosan…" Ran was worried, but perhaps this would give her the chance she needed to identify what was troubling Conan, "never mind… I'll talk with you tomorrow about it then…"

"Alright, I'll be there soon," her father hung up the phone, "something's come up Ran. We'll talk about it when I get back. Yea, the bozu's been acting weird, reminds me of something from before… nah… He'll be fine, just leave 'em be for now…" Her father hurried upstairs, leaving Ran alone in the agency for a moment. Still she worried, she heard her dad speaking for a short time at the top of the stairs, was he talking to Conan? Ran then heard Conan wishing him a safe trip, and for an easy case. She realized that the situation was eerily familiar…

"I'll talk to him tonight then… I'll see if I can't figure out some of it…" she mumbled to herself, as her father ran past she gave him a quick hug and a good bye peck on the cheek.

"Take care Ran," he said, "he'll be okay, just let the brat we're here for him if he needs us. Even if he is annoying he is at times…" She smiled and watched him flag down a cab. After locking the agency up for the night she went up the stairs, inside Conan was waiting. Arms cradling his knees to his chest, this would not be as hard as she thought. He was still lost looking, but it appeared that he wanted to talk to her about it.

"Ran neechan… can we talk?" Conan asked in one of the smallest voices she had ever heard him use.

"Of course Conan kun," she responded, inwardly she was cheering. Conan was taking care of the hard part for her. Or so she thought he was…

SHINICHI (Sometime the next day)

"Kudou! Have you been avoiding me?" Hattori whined into the phone, he could probably hear the 'tsk' that Shinichi had just made, "ah… you must have talked with nee-san. What advice did she have to offer?"

"Ran caught on quickly that I wasn't my normal cheery nosey self. Especially when I let Kogoro out of the house for a case without me trying to follow him," Shinichi started, "she's out with Sonoko and Kazuha at the moment, getting some groceries for tonight. Get this Hattori, she thought I was homesick or something…" He heard the Osaka detective burst out laughing, then he heard the slight wheeze as he attempted to reign in the laughter.

"Kudou, how often do you see your mother?" Hattori started, "I mean your mother dressed up as Conan's mother. How often do you talk about them? Call them, or see anything related to Conan's life prior to staying with the Mouris. Zilch, can you see how she drew that conclusion yet?" Shinichi thought about it, his mother had stopped by a few weeks after he became Conan dressed as 'Edogawa San' but other than that… His eyes widened, no wonder Ran had misinterpreted his actions.

"Hattori… She thought I was acting just like she did after her mother separated from her father!" Shinichi explained, Hattori huffed on the other end of the line, "well I'm sorry, I haven't had all week to figure out why she's been more worried than usual about me. I've been too busy helping-" Shinichi soon realized he should probably shut up about that before he let Gin's name slip.

"Yea, Ishida san wasn't it?" Hattori finished, and he sounded pissed… Like Shinichi was going to really regret not telling him anything, "You got out of it last time thanks to neechan, now how bad did you screw up? You said somethin' bout being sent back to square one, so how'd you manage that? Sounds more like you blundered through everything, rather than bein' all showy like normal. What did ya do?" Hattori's deductions as always were astutely on cue, and disastrously close to truths not designed to be revealed by any party.

"I guess you could say that, I was trying to impress him. I wanted to show him I could be useful, and that I was trustworthy," Shinichi confirmed moving out of Kogoro's office so that his chances of being overheard without noticing were slim. "I will tell you who Ishida san really is when he allows it, but until then please stop guessing, you could get someone killed. Probably me at the rate you're going."

"I promise to stop trying to figure out who it is if you spill about this weekend. Deal?" the Osaka detective bargained.

Shinichi was loathe to admit it, but he needed someone to talk to about it, and Ran had gotten two different wrong impressions last night.

"Deal. You think you Kazuha will pop in again like she did yesterday?" he inquired cautiously. There was silence for a moment on the other end of the line. He heard a shuffling on the other end of the line, then a beep.

"Kudou, I've got you on speaker at the moment so you can listen, just don't say anything or make any noise. Got it?" before Conan could respond he hear Heiji dialing a very familiar number. It was Ran's cell number judging from the tones, when her voice answered he wondered what Heiji was about to do. "Hey Neechan, do you mind if I try and talk to Conan this afternoon? I saw that something was bothering him yesterday, and I was just about to get through to him when you and Kazuha surprised us with your visit." There was a quick breath of relief on the other end of the line.

"Could you? I think he's got some sort of repressed sadness or something. He wasn't acting this funny until he came back from that trip with his mom. I think he feels like he was abandoned or something, and I'm really worried about him," Ran's voice echoed in the hospital room line, "he wouldn't really talk to me about it. I got him to open up a little, but I think it would be an excellent idea if you talk with him!" Shinichi could hear the heartbroken tone in her voice. She was close to crying, over him no less!

"Certainly Neechan, but I do need a bit of a favor though…" Heiji's voice went quiet, "can you keep Kazuha at bay long enough for me to talk with him? He went from being almost ready to talk to completely blank on me. I can't have that happening if we want to make any progress. Can you do that for me?" Ran let out the most adorable little hiccup yes Shinichi had ever heard. Soon enough Heiji had hung up the other phone and turned off speakerphone, "I would say very slim with Neechan playing bouncer Kudou. That good enough?"

"I'll be there soon," Shinichi answered. He hung up his cell and grabbed his coat. His eyes widened, he had yet to hide the antidote. He couldn't just leave it where Ran would find it… He had to be clever, he had to use something that Kogoro would never look in until he could take it to Agasa's house. He found a book full of puzzles and logic problems with a heavy coat of dust on it, he smiled to himself sliding the antidote in a small jewelry bag into the spine of the book discretely. He placed it back on the shelf cautiously, and slipped his shoes on.

It didn't take him long to cross the street and find his way up to Heiji's room. The Osaka detective was sitting up waiting impatiently, then again it had taken him about five minutes to find a good hiding place for it…

"Took you long enough, so first things first. What type of case was it?" Hattori's stare told Shinichi just how much he wanted to know. Shinichi found it creepy. "Murder, kidnapping? Perhaps it was a blackmail? Darn it I wanna know!" Shinichi took a seat, and gave Heiji the severely edited version, which made the Osaka detective frown a bit. "Did you have to censor so much?"

"Yes, Ishida san would prefer you didn't know anything at all. The difference is I need to know what I did to screw up, and I know it wasn't during the case," Shinichi explained, "I was given an experimental prototype antidote for the 'Conan' aliment as a reward for my work on the case. So it was not the case he was upset about it, it was after. I'm not entirely sure he was upset!" Shinichi growled in frustration.

"Then what did you do?" the Osaka detective asked in frustration. "The last thing you told me last time was something about he forgot a change of clothes. Don't tell me you offered him a set of yours!" Shinichi paled, he had forgotten that… He gave himself a head slap for even considering at any point that he could have borrowed a set of clothing from Gin.

"Hardly, he stepped out of the bathroom, went to the bedroom fresh out of the shower because he forgot his change of clothes in his bag, then went back to the bathroom. Kami it was awkward," Shinichi mustered, "I offered to help him, just in case there was anything particularly difficult to do with his arm broken…" As he trailed off he knew by the bright red flush crossing Heiji's face that he had gotten the point across.

"Kudou… are you telling me you were staring at this guy as he crossed the hotel room in a towel, and offered to help… with something I don't even get to know about, and he noticed the staring?" Heiji asked in disbelief, "well, perhaps he's a homophobe or something?"

"Unlikely…" Shinichi muttered lightly, he turned away. Heiji didn't even have to ask, "he… he's known my real identity for a while, so I don't think it has anything to do with that either Hattori. I have no idea what I did wrong, but he just turned all stony on me all of a sudden. It wasn't my carelessness that I mentioned earlier about not announcing it was me, I'm sure of it… I just don't know what I did…" Heiji's face took several expressions before settling on a familiar face that often lead to trouble.

"Why don't you call him?" the Osaka detective offered, "since neither of us gets it, maybe it was just a breach of some CIA, FBI, or whatever top secret super spy agency conduct thing… He might have gotten in trouble for doing anything else. It's not like he shot you or anything, or maybe he's as confused about your reaction as you are to his. In any case… why don't you just call him and ask? Or maybe ask for a way to redeem yourself?"

Shinichi sat there with a deer in the headlights expression. How the hell was he going to pull this off? Call Gin, elude to telling him that he had spoken to Hattori, and that he had been told to call the source of his unease and ask what he did wrong? Did Hattori have no sense of self preservation? Shinichi wanted to scream at Heiji for suggesting the idea, but the more the idea floated around his head, the more it sounded like a horribly deceivingly simple idea. But how would he tell Gin that he wasn't alone in the room? Would the assassin shoot him for calling him?

"You look like I just told you to call that man in black who shrunk you," Heiji snorted in amusement from where he was sitting in the hospital bed, "it can't be that difficult to call him and ask." Shinichi had to fight to keep his expression from changing, after all he couldn't afford to let Heiji figure it all out now. Still what a terrible that joke was. Ugh.

"I'll call him, but you need to promise not to say anything stupid this time," Shinichi warned him, "he already doesn't like you." Which was true, Gin hated detectives, and he seemed to immensely disapprove of Hattori because of their last conversation over the phone… It sounded like Gin was about to offer to shoot him for Shinichi if he had kept up his obnoxious behavior. He pulled out the phone and sat down in the chair across from Hattori again. Funny enough, he didn't remember getting up to stand at any point earlier… He entered the number that he always remembered to clear from his phone and waited for the blond to pick up.

It was going to be a long day.


	31. PART THIRTY ONE- HOW YOU REMIND ME

Gin had spent the last day trying to understand why the only thing he could do properly was aim and shoot his pistol at things that offended him. Vodka informed him sometime later on that he was in bare minimum mode, which at the time didn't concern him. Well not yet anyways, shooting things was never an issue, nothing he had shot would cause any lasting damage… The wall, a picture of Vermouth, a can of something that looked decidedly evil, a picture of Vermouth in disguise, a picture of some random politician, another picture of Vermouth, and finally one of Anokata's tires. Vodka had tracked him down for an hour long mission, or rather, to get him away from Anokata's stuff before he did something abrasively stupid. Vodka had a relatively simple task, inspect what was going on with a particular client of his.

He managed not to do anything stupid, Gin's distractions proved more than he could handle though, Sherry was brought to keep an eye on the strangely behaving blond. Gin didn't say a word, he merely found other things to shoot at, Vodka worried how sane it was to let the blond keep the pistol, the matter was taken out of his hands. Gin pulled a Houdini on all of them, disappearing to the lounge for a drink one moment (a gin and tonic of all things), then down to the sniper booth practice shot facilities. Chaniti had snuck in to watch that one, she left babbling something about impossibilities hours later. Gin remained in there well past the recommended time, but no one dared remove the blond. He had broken every record possible during that time, and had it been anything but simulated he would have held the new longest shot record.

The following morning, Gin did not remember any of this. He didn't speak to anyone, he went to a lab and started mixing chemicals near Sherry. Then his phone rang, for some reason Vodka had it in his possession (handed to him more like when Gin entered the sniping facilities). He saw the number on the display, and answered promptly.

"Hold on, or call back in five minutes. He doesn't have his phone at the moment," Vodka spoke, not bothering to identify himself. It was in fact Kudou on the line. The portly agent realized that whatever was bothering the blond might have to do with the kid, so best to let him deal with it directly. Vodka didn't want to know, and he certainly wasn't going to ask. "Aniki!" He called, the blond assassin ignored him, continuing to mix whatever he was working on. "Aniki!" Vodka tried again, Sherry looked his way. She got the blond's attention, and Vodka placed the phone in front of him. Sherry picked up the phone when Gin stopped staring at it and went back to what he was doing. Her expression of surprise wasn't unexpected as she heard the caller's voice.

"It's Kudou," Sherry offered the phone, Gin's face changed suddenly before their eyes. For the past 36 hours it had been stony and non-receptive to any sort of visual or verbal cue, yet… His face broke out of its stony appearance and went straight into sardonic predator mode. Sherry placed it in his hand, he looked at the caller id display then promptly exited the building.

His head had been so far encased in his own musings that he hadn't realized how bad the situation was.* It was dangerous for him to run on autopilot for so long, that was how he managed to make mistakes most of the time, thankfully he hadn't been on any missions of his own during this particular duration of uselessness. Gin looked at the phone, it showed it was still connected, doubtless that the detective was still on the other end of the line waiting. Gin raised the phone to his ear tapping the speaker slightly in the process… Kudou made a noise on the other end of the line in surprise.

"Gomen, is now a bad time or something?" Kudou sounded… Strange Gin decided on, he sounded different than normal, higher pitched and more clipped. Perhaps stressed then, what did the shrunken detective have to be stressed about?

"No," he stated firmly, he realized he was standing in far too open an area for this conversation though, "Sherry will take care of it. Why…" The blond questioned the reason he wanted to ask this question, it would serve no purpose to know the answer now, the moment was dead and gone. Long gone he reminded himself harshly, he was getting far too tangled up in the actions of the Fox.

"What did I do?" the detective blurted… Gin attempted to look at the phone with the expression intended for the detective, but alas expressions do not travel through normal phone calls, "I mean I think I did something wrong, but… I have no idea what it was." Gin frowned, so the brat didn't realize he had caught him extremely off guard that night. This was going to be interesting then.

SHINICHI

"Well?" Hattori mouthed from across the room, Shinichi sent a glare his direction before returning his attention to the phone again. Gin hadn't threatened to kill him yet, so apparently he didn't have to worry about that… So then what was with his original reaction then? That flash of something before all the walls abruptly interrupted turning his face to stone.

"Why did you assume you did something wrong?" the blond's voice was low, and Shinichi knew that if he had been standing he would probably be falling over. Did the blond even realize what that implied? He looked at Hattori in shock, then turned his attention back to the phone.

"So… I didn't do anything wrong?" he asked clearly. He was not about to elaborate, it was none of Hattori's business that he had stood in a confined space with the man only wearing a towel. It was also none of his business that Shinichi had to pin said towel to the assassin's waist or risk giving himself the nosebleed of the century. "Even that?" The vague line would probably point out he had company, but he couldn't risk anything more than he had.

"Someone is listening I take it, care to explain why you had this call with someone else in the room," the blond growled out. Shinichi felt himself go cold instantly, so Gin was mad, just not about what he thought he would be.

"It's just Hattori," he hoped he could play it off a little, "you know that Hattori." Hattori looked at him with a pouty look, as if saying 'so he can know who I am, but I can't know who he is? How unfair is that?' which judging from the size of the pout was right on target.

"The catalyst one then, same one that you referred to as an ahou?" Gin's voice was steady, and Shinichi wasn't sure he should have made this phone call this way. He made an affirmative noise, keeping himself focused on what he was trying to do. It was abundantly clear to him that if he didn't mind his step right now he was going to make Heiji a bigger target than he was. "Tread lightly Fox. I have enough detectives to deal with." That was enough of a warning for him, he turned to Hattori and mouthed for him to 'be quiet'.

"I'm glad, I thought I was back to square one all over again for a while there," Shinichi spoke softly, "I really didn't think you'd have the patience to put up with me after that." There was the unsaid lines about not dying of course, but still, the blond must be able to read some things out of context.

"If I wanted you dead Kudou, you would already be just bones in the ground somewhere," the blond chuckled lowly over the line, before hanging up. Shinichi smiled flipping the phone shut, he wasn't in danger, and apparently he misread what the blond was reacting to.

"So…" Hattori started with a shit-eating grin, "how'd things go?"

"Better than anticipated," Shinichi sighed, "he still doesn't like you. Might have something to do with being mistaken for a woman and you pissing me off while I was on the phone with him last time…" Shinichi hinted, Hattori had been right, the phone call had done the trick. As he started to slide the phone into his pocket a blood curdling scream echoed down the hallway. He rolled his eyes looking to Heiji who shrugged innocently, "why does this always happen when I'm around you?"

"I should be asking you the same thing!" Heiji was smirking, "but I enjoy the company too much to complain for long…" Heiji was stalking behind him as soon as they saw the officers running past signifying that something was actually wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hittocere: Below is information about the longest shot in the world and what Magnum means when used to describe a bullet.
> 
> His head had been so far encased in his own musings that he hadn't realized how bad the situation was.* –It took me a moment to realize what I was referring to here, seeing as it's been a couple of months since I worked on this chapter. 'how bad the situation was' is actually a reference to him and his emotions/attachments to what's going onto Shinichi. More precisely its about the fact he was bothered at all by the situation.
> 
> Gun facts of the chapter: The longest shot in the world is held by a United Kingdom sniper at the moment, the length of this shot is 2.475 kilometers, for American length measurement I'm thinking that's over a mile and a half. All I can say is that's damned impressive. The gun used was a L115A3 with .338 Lapua Magnum rounds. The two shots below that are by Canadians using .50 cal weapons.
> 
> Magnum just means that it's a hotter round if I remember my gun knowledge correctly… According to a S&W poster about the .44 Magnum round is an 1/8th of an inch longer allowing for a larger amount of powder with higher velocity and thus higher pressure than a .44 special. It also has less fall in its trajectory than the .44 special. But they both can be fired from the same gun, (given that the gun is designed to fire the Magnum round of course). Meaning it goes farther faster with more knock back power. It also doesn't drop as fast because of gravity. (Special rounds are hotter than regular rounds, but only slightly...)


	32. PART THIRTY TWO - STAND

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not much to say this time, song representing the chapter is Stand, by Rascal Flatts. I will have everyone know I sat for thirty minutes reading RNs' comments (registered Nurses I'm guessing) on air bubbles in IV lines just so I could use this! ( edit 10/1/12 And I still don't really understand it all if I'm being completely honest with everyone)
> 
> It seems to be an interesting site, I will return there later for more Detective Conan fatalities. As per if anyone is wondering, it takes a massive amount of air in the line to do this, and nurses are deathly afraid of inserting any air into your lines (according to all of the nurses commenting on this site). If anyone is interested in reading the article/posts themselves it can be found at allnurses dot com. It was under IV air bubble compensation on google.

When the detective called him that evening he was surprised. He wouldn't ever admit it, but he was. The Fox had called to tell him about a case that occurred not moments after he had hung up with him, and Gin wondered about its relevance until he heard the cause of death. Kudou had actually called to ask specifics about the cause of death, which happened to be air in the now dead patient's IV line. Gin didn't work with IV lines a lot, but he did remember that one of the most frightening concepts, (for a nurse anyway) was air in an IV line.

Well, this was something Gin didn't know off the top of his head. The Fox had asked how much air would have to be administered through the line to be fatal, and Gin found himself curious as well. The possibilities! It could be a different way to murder a target without leaving any evidence.

He agreed to take Sherry the phone to ask about it, and so he sought out Sherry and found her in the labs, as he expected to. She shot Gin a dirty look but answered the question anyway. She knew what he was thinking of using the knowledge for.

"You want to know how much air in an IV line is fatal?" she asked dryly.

"Yes, I just worked out a murder involving the concept, and would like to be certain my deductions were correct," the Fox explained, his voice tinny over the phone, "do I need to explain the case details to you, or is it a uniform amount that causes this result in anyone, as I suspect?"

"Well Kudou I use 10cc's of air to humanely euthanize my lab mice, so it is not a stretch to say it is a viable way to murder," Sherry explained pulling out a notebook with all sorts of lab notations in it, "in a child the amount would be less than in an adult, which I am sure you have already deduced."

"So it's not just a movie trick?" the Fox sounded relieved, "and the amount?" Sherry looked at Gin, then back at her notes.

"It varies. Some genetic diseases or pre existing conditions make the amount required drastically less, sometimes by as much as a syringe," she read from the notes, apparently she had researched it at one time, "in others it takes more than 60cc's of air, but sometimes that still isn't a fatal dose. The amount varies, but most physician's assistants believe that a full IV line of full air is more than enough to either induce a stroke or heart attacks in the affected patient. As earlier stated, the amount has never been confirmed, as it varies by patient and their own condition." Gin frowned, what a waste…

"So it causes those effects at that amount, but other than that it isn't fatal?" the Fox sounded annoyed.

"Not that simple," Sherry glanced at Gin, "If you want my opinion, about 100cc's shows promise of the baseline amount for causing cardiac arrest leading to death. The professional opinion rests at somewhere between 100 and 300cc's of air in a line. Happy?" She was scowling at Gin now who was amused by the idea, but found he had no inclination to test it.

"Too much work for anyone non-medical to do, who was your culprit Fox?" the assassin asked.

"The culprit in this case was his disgruntled lover, cheated out of some large sum of money, she worked at the hospital as a RN," the Fox muttered, confirming Gin's assumption, and they could hear him flipping through pages in his notebook now, "she retired after being accused of malpractice to avoid being sued for wrongful death." Gin nodded. It certainly sounded like the Fox had worked his magic again, and had solved something that would have been covered up as an accident.

"What made you look into her background?" Sherry inquired.

"Instinct. She was suspicious," the Fox explained, a thread of excitement running through his voice, "one of the nurses was staring at the IV bag. She said that the method that the IV drip bag had been attached to the stand was no longer practiced in that hospital because of the risk of air bubbles in the line. The suspects name also made some of the physicians cringe earlier when the Inspector questioned them. Of course the police didn't notice that fact. None of the staff said a word, but the records were easily unearthed and the mystery of the bag technique was solved quickly."

"If that's all Fox, I do have better things to do than sit around on the phone while you talk about murders," Gin took the phone off speakerphone setting, and brought it up to his ear as he walked out of the labs, only vaguely noticing the surprised look on Sherry's face. He was quickly distracted by the soft chuckle on the other end of the line.

"That's not all… I did need to apologize," the shrunken detective's voice was soft. Gin lit a cigarette and placed it to his lips trying to think. He was puzzled, what had the Fox done now that he felt the need to apologize for? Hadn't he just done that a couple of hours ago? So why was he trying to do so again, and within such a short time since the last one?

"Why?" his tone came out gravelly. Gin blamed it on the cigarette.

"I should not have let Hattori listen in on that call without asking," the Fox elaborated, "I wasn't thinking all that straight at the time. It won't happen again…" The blond leaned against the building blowing another ring of smoke out into the night.

"Don't. Apologies are a sign of weakness," the assassin decided to respond with, "have you taken that antidote yet?" He was curious, and wondered how long the detective would wait…

"No, I haven't. It doesn't seem right to take them without Haiba- I mean Sherry around," the Fox sounded resigned. The blond found an idea starting to float around his head in an increasingly insistent manner. Why he even wanted to ask the question was beyond him entirely, so when it blurted out from his shocked lips he found himself more surprised by the answer than anything else.

"Is it just Sherry you miss having watching over you, then?" there was no venom in the tone, which lead him to the even more shocking revelation of what tone it actually was. It was not irritation like one might have suspected. No, this sounded more like something akin to… disappointment? Gin shuddered at the thought, and looked around to see if anyone else had heard that. To his relief no one was in the visible area, and he couldn't hear anyone else nearby either.

"Huh?" the unintelligent response set the assassin's mind in overdrive. Before the Fox thought to answer suitably, Gin briefly thought about hanging up, "no… I kind of wanted to take it while we were at the lodge. Only it would look funny if you entered with a reasonably well known primary student and exited with a famous high school detective." The assassin found this information satisfactory and continued to listen. "I also wanted to know if there was a way to use the proteins to lessen the pain again. It seemed like it helped a lot on the change back into this shrunken form."

Gin would be damned if his question ever got back to Vermouth. He'd be reminded of it for weeks, and yet, at that last line… he wondered if he really minded that much anymore. "That could be arranged. You'll need supervision so you don't do something stupid," Gin smirked fondly, "like accidentally kill yourself with air bubbles in your IV line." There was a laugh from the other end of the line.

"I didn't know you even had a sense of humor," the Fox commented with mirth that could be heard over the line, "I'll be expecting your call then." The blond hung up the phone and resisted the urge to go ask Sherry right away about just how much he was going to need. The first thing he was going to do was go shoot something, the second thing he was going to do was attempt to straighten out his thoughts, the last thing he intended to do was sleep on everything and ponder how that one line managed to escape his lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Liquid measurements are
> 
> CC- cubed centimeter
> 
> mLs- seems to be milliliters
> 
> Hittocere: So I am late, what's new about that? Good news is the Method Muse bug bit me hard, so I expect good things. I am also uploading this on A03, where people who asked for the Gin cuts will be able to find them, tonight ;) Look for A New Method and you will find me and THEM. Any questions, send me a pm. Thank you for the patience with me, and I'm going back to work on 'Part 33- Mathematics' now. *waves*


	33. PART THIRTY THREE – MATHEMATICS

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kogoro returns, who questions Shinichi about 'what's bothering him', Ran interrupts, saving Shinichi from a lie. He visits Hattori, things get.... interesting. Oh and Chianti asks Gin a very dangerous question, Vermouth decides to run, a wise choice considering its her fault...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes: The song that this is based off is amusing, and my beta and I highly recommend it. The artist is Little Boots, the title is Mathematics, and it’s a bouncy song. Also a bit… sappy, but well worth listening to.  
> VOCAB:  
> Tadaima= I’m home (or home now)  
> Okaeri= Welcome back  
> Shukudai= homework  
> Shogakkou- kiddie school  
> Blond- Gin, Blonde-Vermouth (seeing as I’m using both in pretty much the same segment of this)  
> EKG= An electrocardiogram (EKG or ECG) is a test that checks for problems with the electrical activity of your heart.  
> Criminology- the study of crime  
> Paikaru- the white Chinese alcohol that changed Shinichi back to full size during the diplomat case during Heiji’s introduction to the series.

After his last phone call with the blond, Shinichi spent a suspicious amount of time in Kogoro's office, where he was staring at the logic book that contained his precious antidote. He was working on a riddle that Kid had left for him when the elder detective trudged in. His expression was grim, and when Shinichi spotted the six pack of cheap beer dangling from Mouri's hand… That was when the shrunken detective knew that the last two days had been stressful for occhan.

The question was just how bad and why the elder detective was so upset looking about it. He looked at 'Conan' with only slight irritation, he didn't even bother tossing him out of the office for once. Shinichi reluctantly pocketed Kid's riddle before making his way towards Kogoro's work desk with an age appropriate expression of confusion. Kogoro was lost in his own world, scowling at the beer can which was being difficult to open. After an unnecessary struggle, it opened, and was soon followed by the cheery sound of the Okino Yoko program opening.

"What went wrong Occhan?" Shinichi asked in his Conan voice. Kogoro glanced slowly in his direction, sipping at the beer he had just opened. A haunted expression lingered in the man's eyes, "Occhan?" The beer was placed aside, and Kogoro looked away from Conan and the television.

"The suspect… the girl that I was supposed to be tailing ended up getting murdered, she didn't even do anything. They wanted her dead, because they thought… they thought she saw something, but she didn't. The only thing she saw was the barrel… cold and unrelenting steel as she died from blood loss," Kogoro's voice wavered, "she was about Ran's age. Shot down in the middle of the street… Her friends were innocent, turned out to be the brother's friend, a boy she had known for years…" Shinichi could only imagine Kogoro's immense level of unease to discover that someone had cold heartedly murdered a girl his beloved daughter's age.

"You solved it then?" Shinichi asked rather unnerved after he found out what was disturbing the other detective. "How did you know who it was?"

"I didn't know who it was, her dying message clued me in after I heard something suspicious. The culprit was arrested, but still…" Kogoro turned back towards the television, "something felt off." Shinichi raised an eyebrow. What, did Kogoro actually follow this feeling to anything?

"Off? Like what Occhan?" Shinichi questioned, hoping that he wasn't wrong about the other detective's intuition…

"Her message… it was written without duress according to the CSI, but… she showed hesitation. Like she didn't want to tell her story," Kogoro sipped his beer again, "like if Ran were to… Kami, I don't even want to keep thinking about it… I almost miss that detective brat, but to think of him doing something like that to her. I'd..." Shinichi's curiosity flat lined, with a line like that there were very few possibilities as to what happened.

"Her death wasn't your fault Occhan. You couldn't have known what was going to happen," Shinichi spoke quietly. That young woman had died, because of someone she cared about the way that maybe Ran cared about Shinichi… for someone like that to be responsible for her death. Maybe not even directly responsible in the same way, but maybe… this boy that Kogoro mentioned may have been in over his head, like Shinichi himself was… well still is. Knowing the elder detective as well as he did, Kogoro could probably only see Ran's face on whoever the victim was. "Should I go get Ran neechan?" Shinichi whispered, knowing it was the only way to force that terrible feeling away. To know that it _wasn't_ Ran. To know that his own daughter was alive and well despite what happened to that victim. Kogoro shook his head, and looked over at Shinichi with a sad expression.

"No, demo…. Bozu, did you ever see one you care about… you know?" Kogoro was studying his face carefully, "Get hurt? Or killed? Is that why you're so absorbed in the cases we get?" Shinichi inwardly flinched, was this Kogoro's idea of a heart to heart? Certainly he hadn't been acting that badly out of character?

"Eh? Iie, iie… its nothing like that Occhan," Shinichi backpedaled, kami sama he was bad at lying… There had to be a valid reason he could present to Occhan to keep him off the trail.

"Conan kun, otousan, tadaima!" Ran's cheery voice broke through the tension, and Conan realized that he needed to come up with a good answer for if Occhan ever decided to bring that back up.

"Okaeri!" he called back running to meet up with Ran, "how's Sonoko neechan? Kid san left a note for me at school…" Ran smirked, looking at him funny, she had long since found out that Kid was slipping him notes.

"Sonoko's gushing all about it of course, fortunately for Kid she already had plans that she can't cancel. The whole school is talking about it, I wonder if Shinichi even knows yet?" she wondered aloud, then leaned down to talk to 'Conan' directly, "So… has Kid san figured out why I can tell he's not Shinichi yet?"

"Iie, I don't think he has, otherwise he would have tried using that disguise around you again," Shinichi himself wasn't sure what Kid had done to give himself away yet, he was assuming it was one of those women's intuition things. Ran's smile didn't reveal anything either, perhaps it was a type of cologne that Kid wore? He had no idea…

"Ah, so ka?" Ran's smile wavered and eventually turned to a frown as she spotted the fresh six pack on her father's desk. "Otousan!" Kogoro had the decency to cringe as his daughter started chastising him about his drinking again. Shinichi made his way out of the office to avoid what would turn into another foul mood for the other detective. "and where do you think you're going Conan kun?" His escape temporarily cut off Shinichi paused mid-step.

"To do homework? Kobayashi sensei gave us a lot of Kanji work," Shinichi answered, which was true, but he had already done the majority of it. He did however have a lot of his 'Shinichi' homework to do, which was taking up most of the time he used for pretending to do Conan's homework. He would however be practicing his various Kanji… not that Ran needed those specifics. She nodded his direction, Kogoro giving him a suspicious glance like he planned the whole thing.

Ran was still blissfully unaware of her father's depressed mood, which allowed him a perfect chance to escape, but not before Shinichi caught the look in Kogoro's eye that promised that he wasn't finished with him yet. He sighed inwardly as he closed the office door, he really wasn't looking forward to another 'what is wrong with you Conan?' chats. He made his way up the stairs, and decided that perhaps he ought to avoid being alone with Kogoro anytime soon…

HAIBARA

Ai was thinking about Kudou's call earlier, though she had determined that it was nothing to be concerned about. While Miyano Shiho had never been called in as a criminology reference before, it was a new experience in a direction that she kind of wished she _had_ taken. Not that she'd had much of a choice in the matter to start with. She had followed in her parents footsteps in an effort to better understand them, not because she enjoyed the science itself. After her short glimpse at freedom from the organization to live a simpler life, she had realized that she _did_ miss working in the lab. She wasn't concerned that Kudou kun was getting too engrossed in his mysteries.

Kudou Shinichi's desire for factual knowledge, when pertaining to his crime scenes, was unparalleled (accuracy wise) by any natural force, it was remarkable to witness the lengths that he was willing to go to prove his methods. As both Megure keibu and Takagi keiji could both attest to, since they started working with Meitantei 'Mouri'. This drive of Shinichi's to find the connections to make the conclusions he ascertained from his crime scenes, was all that much more damning for the criminals. Kudou was rather predictable in that aspect, it was a rather fortunate thing that the detective was not born a cat…

Curiosity killed cats, in any case.

No, what actually troubled her presently was a certain blond's _moods swings_ every time one of those calls happened. The blond assassin might as well be diagnosed with a form of bipolar disorder, with the way his attitude seemed to be shifting so abruptly in relation to Kudou or his actions. Haibara had also been selected (though not of her own free will, she couldn't really say no) to be Vodka's go-to shrink when all this madness started. She was honestly trying to care, but it was extremely difficult to care when she honestly didn't give a damn.

The blond was actually… well she couldn't really say for certain. What with the fact that Gin would rather die than admit feeling any of the softer emotions… It would have been easier to get an EKG reading from a rock for Kami's sake. She would however make an educated guess that he was trying to change for the shrunken detective, well attempting to be more towards the side of 'good' if she was reading anything. 'Good' being the relative term anyways. Such principals of 'good' and 'evil' were normally beside the point, not to mention archaic, for all of the involved parties in this strange dance. She looked up from her musings to find Vermouth traipsing in, newspaper firmly in hand with a shark's smile painting her pale face.

"Who died for you today?" Chianti questioned from the corner of Haibara's lab that she was holed up in. The sniper was waiting for Haibara to finish a chemical analysis on what was likely a poison, but that still didn't explain why Vermouth had looked quite so pleased with herself up until the sniper's statement. Haibara knew that the master of disguise held herself personally responsible for Calvados' death. Even though since she was present at the time, Haibara knew it was suicide because of Rye's actions. She twisted uneasily on the tall bar stool, which had enough rungs on it for her to climb up and be tall enough to look through the microscope she was using. Well, look into it when those idiots weren't distracting her.

"Very funny Chianti, no it's our other resident blond that's making today amusing. Did you know I had Gin taken off the Numabuchi assignment?" Vermouth said staring down at the sniper. The resulting expression belonged more on Gin's face than hers, deadpan with a hint of surprise at the corners of her eyes. The scientist wondered what that had to do with anything…

"Aniki told you not to do that," Vodka commented as he was walking into Haibara's lab casually, like it was the place to be. Haibara scowled, since when was she hosting assassin's monthly? In her poisons laboratory no less! Vermouth smiled at the bulky man, then waved the newspaper at him jokingly, "What's that?"

"Oh, just the article pertaining to Numabuchi's death, and get this… Kusada's," she smirked. Eyebrows of the other members raised, "their deaths at the hands of the not so capable Yamamura Misao Keibu." Chianti scowled from the cabinet she was waiting on in the back of the room.

"That worthless dirt bag's gone? Good riddance, how do you even know it was Gin sempai? It's not like **that** man to leave a trail," Chianti asked the master of disguise. Haibara shuddered with an uneasy chill, looking back down at the compound she was attempting to study. Vermouth's manic smile was starting to even give her the creeps.

"He didn't, it was the shot placement. It reads something along the lines of- _Two suspects were confirmed dead this afternoon after attempting to escape police custody. Yamamura Keibu, who shot the suspects, had this to say, 'I can neither confirm nor deny the suspects involvement in the Ohayashi case, but it is true that both parties died.'_ It goes on to say that Yamamura's gun was temporarily 'misplaced' in the confusion, but that it had, in fact, been the weapon in question. While he didn't actually remember firing it, he does praise his team for their quick thinking and accuracy. If not excessiveness to make sure that the convicted murderer did not escape. Each was found with a shot in the chest and a shot in the head, want to see the pictures?" Haibara could only imagine were Vermouth had gotten the crime scene/autopsy photos.

"Pasu," Haibara answered coldly. She was too busy looking at the strange substance on the slide in front of her. It was unlike anything she had ever seen, and she was starting to suspect that someone was trying to make a fool out of Chianti by giving it to her as a payment.

"That doesn't prove that it was Aniki," Vodka pouted, he was now taking up a side of the door frame as Vermouth hopped up to lounge on one of the clear countertops. "No one but the…" The big man trailed off as Gin passed by the windows with a scowl that promised death to those who would dare to interrupt him, cancer stick still hanging from his hand as he propped the phone to his ear. He didn't dare finish that sentence, even as the blond vanished from their immediate sight. Haibara wondered if Vermouth had any ideas about the assassin's newfound hostility.

"Vermouth," she called, gaining the other's attention, "who's he talking with now?" The actress turned with a frown, and then looked at her watch in confusion.

"I'm not really sure. I honestly don't think it's the Fox," she mused, "Chianti, what are you hanging around here for anyways?" Haibara wanted to ask the two newcomers the very same thing, but held her tongue in check. It appeared that Vermouth had more to say, but was trying to rid them of Chianti first. Not that her attempt mattered much after _that_ comment…

"Who's to say who Gin sempai looks about to threaten with bodily harm," Chianti muttered, she raised her voice for her next question, "so… who's the _Fox_?" Vermouth actually twitched, she hadn't actually meant to say it aloud at all, let alone in front of the female sniper. Vodka, for his part, blanched an unnatural white, likely thinking just about the same thing as Haibara, that this wasn't going to end well for any of them. The only exception might be Kudou himself, for not being directly involved.

"The Fox is one of Gin's special undercover contacts that works with the police," Haibara answered completely deadpan, when she realized that Vermouth hadn't yet thought of a diversion and likely wouldn't be, "he's enthusiastic, too much so for this type of work. Gin doesn't actually tell him anything, just in case the moron does get caught for some reason." Vermouth smiled, and Haibara was pleased to realize the blonde knew she owed her one now.

"He's an informant working closely with a couple of the major police departments, but the only thing he's good for is reliable police related intel," Vermouth continued not missing a beat, "Anokata was severely displeased with Gin for not doing more background work on him, to the point that he's currently sporting that broken arm of his. I wouldn't breech the subject unless you wanted more of the same…" Chianti shuttered, looking back towards Haibara in carefully manufactured disinterest once again. She let the subject drop to the others' relief.

"So… is it actually what they said it was? Or is it a volatile chemical or something more like a poison?" she asked. Haibara looked up from the compound to Chianti and then back down to it again warily, "what?"

"I need more time to determine that, or a second opinion on the makeup of the compound at the very least. From what I've seen, I'd call it a mutagen," Haibara informed her, honestly surprised at the chemical's makeup, "it shouldn't actually be as stable as it is from what I've gathered for it so far. By the looks of it… It seems like it would be harmful with prolonged exposure or a large amount. It also appears that under the right circumstances it could be fatal given enough time, but right now I just don't have enough data on it. I need more than just an hour to give you thorough and accurate answer Chianti." The female sniper nodded and left without so much as another word. Once Vodka had confirmed she was out of hearing range there was a collective sigh of relief.

"What the hell was I (/were you) thinking?" Vermouth muttered aloud as the other two hissed the same thing. Vermouth blinked, then turned a light shade of pink in embarrassment.

"It can't be helped if she notices now," the actress shrugged her shoulders apologetically, "he's been a drama queen all week, it's not my fault I can't get the subject off my mind."

"Oh, but it will be _your_ head if she asks Gin about it," Haibara pointed out, turning away from the microscope smoothly, "you know he doesn't want anyone else knowing about **him**. Shit is going to hit the fan for that, Chianti doesn't know how to keep secrets, you **know** that!" Vodka was just looking pale listening to the conversation.

"Aniki is going to do something rash when he hears about this, and I have a feeling that everyone is going to regret whatever it is he decides to do… again," the portly agent's frown deepened, "do you remember what **that person** did when they found their car that evening? I thought everyone was going to be at risk… Aniki even growled at me this morning…"

"I'm doomed," Vermouth agreed, then she pulled out her cell phone. Her already pale complexion turning sheet white. "Kami sama, why did it have to be Chianti?!" The master of disguise took off running, Vodka and Sherry exchanged glances, wondering what happened…

CHIANTI

Vermouth's earlier actions were enough for the sniper to question her actions, it was like the master of disguise was hiding something…. Something big in plain sight, the question was what was it? Vodka's reaction gave her the idea that whatever the four of them, she was sure Gin sempai was in on it, were hiding 'ought to be left alone. Sherry's information made her seriously consider asking Gin directly, barring whatever mood he was in currently.

When the blond assassin in question showed up in front of her, well curiosity kills…

"Who's the Fox?" Chianti questioned. She instantly wished she hadn't. Her curiosity was not worth a bullet between her eyes, nor was it worth the terror she was feeling from the expression that Gin was now wearing.

"We have an assignment. Once that is finished you are going to tell me exactly who and when you heard **that** ," he hissed, "and whoever uttered it will… regret it." The blond's manic smile filled in all the sordid details that Chianti really didn't want to know.

As she and Gin headed for the armory guilt set in and she sent a warning to Vermouth. It was the least she could do before the assassin figured out who it was. Hopefully the master of disguise could live up to her name, or Anokata's mood was about to get a lot worse.

~V. Stay away from sempai for a while… a long while. Gomen yo, ~C~

MESSAGE SENT.

GIN

Chianti had been afraid to go anywhere near him after they completed their 'assignment', coupled with Vermouth's had been strange absence, and then Vodka… The portly agent had been walking on eggshells, quite literally, when he was in the same room with the blond. Of which, the portly agent's minor misunderstanding could have been found amusing, if he wasn't avoiding Gin. Sherry was the only one who wasn't acting like the world was ending, and she was still investigating the chemical compound that Chianti had brought her. She wasn't saying anything, just testing solutions and more solutions against the compound.

Watching others work being ever the bore, the blond took a sample of the compound and started testing it himself. Immediately he began to see exactly why Sherry wasn't talking right now, this 'mutagen' was very promising, but not as a poison. He ran a few tests of his own before noticing Sherry was looking at him mystified.

"I want you to try combining this with the Apotoxin prototype we gave the Fox last time, adjust the binding agents and add a protein boost," he instructed, she nodded slowly, "where in the hell did Chianti get this?"

"I am unsure, she said it was a payment from someone. They told her it was a poison, of all the ridiculous things," the shrunken scientist announced with a scoff, "I had it pegged for a biological poison at first, but then I noticed the lack of anything harmful to the body. It's someone's partial antidote for something…" The blond smiled, he now had another idea what to do with this 'poison'.

"As soon as you're finished testing inform me of the results. Oh, and Sherry?" the blond assassin locked eyes with her, "who told Vodka about the expression 'walking on eggshells', he's taken the advice literally. Again." That had Sherry laughing.

"I guess I do owe Vermouth money on that…" she giggled softly attempting to stifle her laughter, "we've all been… nervous about saying anything around you since Vermouth slipped up in front of Chianti. As for your partner, I told him that he should 'walk on eggshells around you' in response to when he told me you growled at him." The blond raised an eyebrow at her, "he did say that he had made some sort of mistake before the aforementioned growl."

"Of course I growled at him, he smoked my last cigarette and didn't replace it," Gin smirked darkly, "how did you find out?" Sherry shrugged, attempting to be vague. With a light glare she folded to the pressure.

"I'm going to make the educated guess you are referring to Chianti finding out," Sherry answered looking nervous, "after Vodka almost slipped with it. I had asked who she thought you were irritated with, and she said that judging from your mood you 'weren't on the phone with the Fox' judging by the time and the scowl. Vermouth's been observing you, just so you know."

"I'm aware of it. That explains why I have been unable to pin down either of them to get anything done," Gin muttered in irritation, "with what Chianti brought us I guess I'll let it slide for now. Tell **that** **woman** to stop meddling, otherwise…" He stepped outside the lab and lit a cigarette. He honestly hadn't expected there to even be a true antidote for the Fox, or if there was going to be one that it would take Sherry years to make it. The question was how soon would Sherry have a working version of it, and when would the Fox take it.

The Fox was a cautious one, especially after his first meeting with Gin himself. The assassin was going to muse about when he would take care of everything when his phone started vibrating. He checked the screen, he had missed two calls from Vodka, one from Chianti, and this latest alert was an alert from Vermouth herself. He opened the mail and found the message was far more urgent then he would have liked. Finishing the much needed cigarette he ducked back in the lab.

"We've got a problem," Gin growled. Sherry looked up from her work, probably wondering what that had to do with her, "pack up, we've got a leak and I'm not referring to the Fox."

RAN

Ran stared at the strange pill sitting in her hand, it was unlike anything she had ever seen. It had been two days since her father had returned from his case. Seeing as he was looking at it with the same curiosity she was, he didn't know what it was either… Ran might not have even noticed what was hidden there if Conan hadn't been openly staring at the book it was hidden in non-stop almost. His face, which had held that same look of contemplation that it did when they were at murder scenes… she was scared for him. What on earth was this pill and why did Conan even have it? Did he get it from Hattori kun? Maybe he got it from Agasa Hakase, if that was the case it wouldn't be quite so bad… but still.

"Do you think we should confront him about it?" Ran asked her father quietly. Kogoro shook his head, picking up the bag from her hand like it was something disgusting.

"We'll put it up with the Paikaru*, and see how long it takes him to notice we moved it," Kogoro whispered placing it up next to the clear liquor. "We'll see if he did bring it here, if he did… then we will deal with figuring out what it was. If my suspicions are right he brought it here…" Ran tuned out her father, she would call Hattori and ask him if he had any clues about what the pill was.

SHINICHI

Shinichi was sitting in the visitor's chair in Hattori's room running through his less than exciting day at shogakkou, he wouldn't have been doing so except that Hattori had been texting him nonsense all afternoon trying to get a rise out of him. The dull things that he didn't remember even doing ten years ago, then the Shonen Tantei's newfound bad luck at running across murder cases, it was all trivial nonsense… At least until then Ran's call came in on Hattori's cell. Hattori answered, not really surprised to see that Ran was asking him something about her little 'Conan'. The Osakan almost slipped and used Shinichi's real last name again, earning a swift kick to the teen's shin in retaliation. While attempting not to shout obscenities Hattori missed a good portion of what she had said, which from what few words he had managed to catch had his attention.

"Hold on a second Mouri san," Hattori requested, "could you repeat that again, only a little slower this time." As his luck would have it, Shinichi's own cell started ringing at that point. The chibi tantei he stepped out into the hall to answer it, trying his best to ignore the stern looks from the nurses as he passed. He knew the use of cell phones was strictly prohibited in the hospital, but looking at the number he couldn't afford not to answer it. He'd ask Hattori what the call was about later.

"Moshi moshi?" Shinichi answered cautiously. He fingered the red football charm nervously as he waited for a response on the other end of the line.

" _Hello Kudou kun, I have interesting news,"_ that was Haibara, using Gin's phone… The chibi tantei moved out to patio were he would be able to listen a little more privately. " _the most interesting is too sensitive to say over the phone. Meet 'Ishida' san outside Beika General in…_ " Shinichi's eyes widened, he couldn't just drop everything he was doing right now and go be a lab rat. Ran and her father were both upset with him for reasons beyond his detective comprehension.

"I can't just run off on a whim Haibara, remember? Consider what I look like for a moment," Shinichi huffed into the phone in slight irritation, "that and I have some appearances I need to keep up. What do you want me to do run away?" There was a snort on the other end of the line. Since she was also chibi-ized by the Apotoxin he had hoped that would help his claim. There had almost been a search party put in motion by the Shonen Tantei until Shinichi ironed everything else out and smoothed all the ruffled feathers.

" _Put it this way Kudou kun, you could permanently be Kudou sized if you chose to 'run away' in about thirty minutes_ ," Haibara's comment sent him into meltdown mode. He stopped breathing for a moment, then pinched himself. It was real, all of this, including the fact he was likely going to be back to full Shinichi size soon! Kami that thought was empowering, being able to actually reach things again without a stepstool…

"You're sure," he had to fight to keep what little composure he had, "you've actually got a full on cure now?"

" _I'm not going to repeat myself Kudou. We had a breakthrough dropped into our laps in the last few days. What do you say?_ " Haibara's voice was steady, " _there's also a bit of a leak we need you to cover. Ishida will explain._ "

"As much as I want to… I can't take it yet. Oii Haibara, HAIBARA!" he called into the receiver, there was a rustling noise indicating that the phone had just been passed, "any chance this can wait until Friday?"

" _Fox, I am dropping it off to you tonight. Keep it secret,"_ the blond's voice sounded extra gravelly, " _what is so funny?"_ Shinichi resisted the urge to add 'Keep it safe' for reasons of self-preservation.

"Nothing, I suppose you have something urgent to tell me if it has to be tonight. What time?" Shinichi answered shaking his head. He only hoped that whatever it was that had Ran calling Hattori in that much of a panic would delay him that long.

" _You have thirty minutes,_ " there was a click as the blond hung up the phone. Shinichi tucked his phone away and returned to Heiji's room. The Osaka detective looked slightly concerned, he was still on the phone with Ran.

"Yeah, I got it Mouri san, no I didn't give it to him. I'll find out about it, yeah… Ja ne," Hattori hung up his phone. Shinichi raised an eyebrow at the expression he was getting.

"What's wrong with Ran?" Shinichi asked, worried that maybe she was hurt or something.

"That's just it Kudou, she's worried about you. She found a pill you had hidden in a logic book," the other detective answered, "she thought you were doing drugs or something. Since you didn't actually tell me anything I couldn't exactly cover for you." Shinichi's eyes widened, and he face palmed realizing what she had found and exactly what it looked like.

"It was an antidote," the chibi tantei explained, "but I don't have time to explain much more than that. It was one of Haibara's temporary ones…" The Osaka detective's eyes widened realizing that explained his friend's compulsion to look at it and why it had been hidden where it was.

"No wonder she thought you were a druggie, I'll call her right back," the Osaka detective was reaching for his phone when Shinichi shook his head with a half smile. "Don't you want it back?" Shinichi resisted the urge to smirk, badly.

"Haibara just called, she thinks she's got it this time, for good. I could be permanently back to my Koukou Meitantei self Heiji!" he explained barely keeping from jumping for joy, "why would I want a prototype when the real thing will be at my house in less than thirty minutes?" The Osaka detective looked almost as excited as he did.

"No wonder, jeeze, so what do I tell Mouri san about the pill?" he asked first, "wait… you aren't planning on taking that this afternoon are you?" Shinichi shook his head, he meant what he said, he had unfinished business as Conan.

"No. When Haibara left there was a huge amount of confusion," Shinichi clarified before checking his watch, "I already told her that, and if Conan disappears and I come back… Ran and everyone else will be suspicious… Speaking of Ran… could you let her know everything's alright if I run late?" Hattori frowned, he seemed to be thinking back on his conversation with Ran.

"Kudou… you are going to have to deal with that mess you made at some point," Hattori looked somewhat sad, "she's hurting… I can't help you with it either… Hell, I've got more than enough explaining to do to Kazuha." Shinichi nodded, he knew that was coming… Right now though… right now he had to get home!


	34. PART THIRTY FOUR- YOU COULD SAY I WAS RAISING THE STAKES

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Massive chaos, that's really all I can say.... Lots of surprise? Not really, lots of trouble, certainly... Gin and Shinichi's rendezvous at Kudou manor is only the beginning...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This takes place the day after Gin and Haibara tell Shinichi that the full antidote is still in progress.
> 
> Everyone has been so wonderful and patient with me, and my sincerest apologies that this is so very late. My beta and I agreed that I don't make a whole lot of sense when I was working as much as I was combined with the unforseen family complications that occured, I hope to address more of the Mouri situation later on, as you'll soon see Shinichi has a lot on his plate at the moment and it didn't mesh well with the other events that had to happen.
> 
> Anokata, the **that person** \- as we all know by now, Anokata has not been identified, meaning they do not have a gender either… This lead to an interesting issue… I could not bring myself to use hardly any pronouns to describe Anokata. I apologize for all the awkwardness relating around that issue in advance, I blame Vermouth who has not yet told us who Anokata is yet, (nevermind the fact Gin has met them because 'they' broke his arm, I still don't know...). Any pronouns found like so: 'he', 'she', 'their', and 'they' are in reference to Anokata, boss of the Black Org. Again sorry for not being able to make that super easy for anyone.
> 
>  
> 
> **~IMPORTANT~**
> 
>  
> 
> **carrying capacity** \- the population of an individual species that a particular habitat can sustain. (It's one of those terms normally used by hunters, in this particular case, for this story, it's being used to describe a massive plot to murder a whole lot of people.)

He arrived at Kudou Manor quicker than he intended, and he thought he might have been followed, but he didn't care at this point. He needed a break from Vermouth and the others. They were acting like idiots. The master of disguise was supposed to be briefing Chianti, Korn, and Vodka on what about to go down. As it was, she wasn't… He frowned, walking into the manor using the key that the Fox had given him, after the Fox had come to the faulty conclusion that he was picking the locks to get in. Gin didn't bother correcting the detective. He had been using the spare he had found. He had since moved the key elsewhere. It hadn't been in a place the detective brat could have reached at his current size anyway.

He locked the door behind him, and headed to the study. He suspected Vermouth would only make an appearance in the Fox's presence. He wondered if she was going to bribe the Fox into standing between them… He scoffed, picking up the Holmes book they generally used for keeping notes. He skimmed the first few pages of the book, as he reviewed what had happened to drive the situation to this result, which started with Gin reading Holmes at the shrunken detective's home.

Vermouth's text earlier contained nothing an outsider would understand. The first message was 'the sky is green, and the woods are dark'. That Woman, and her annoying love of riddles… The second part about woods indicated that she did not know what the formula was but Gin was not so stupid, fortunately. The number she had left at the end of the message was a clear and direct reference. It was the poison he had developed years ago, the base of which was a lethal virus. The code and its use along with the codeword for stolen had been used liberally in the second message. He had called Vermouth back immediately, and he had intended to have her hunting down the necessary leads after briefing Anokata to the situation.

Anokata would not be pleased about this development. 'They' would authorize Gin to use whatever means necessary to find it and destroy it. Gin would be amused by the timing and reactions, as he still remembered presenting the formula in its infancy to Anokata. The look of delight in 'their' beady eyes as he walked through its chemical makeup, its results on the host body, and the fact it was undetectable without the right references- that look had been unmistakable. The initial careful consideration of where 'they' wanted to try it first with that small sadistic smile. Equally unmistakable was the expression of backpedalling terror when the assassin explained that his creation had no cure. At least not at that time, and Gin was inclined to say that it still wouldn't have a cure if he was entirely honest. He hadn't been interested in making a cure, he had made the virus resistant to too many types of interference for such a thing to be created in such a short amount of time.

Gin had been enthralled, dazzled, even possessed, doing his work on it. As a human being, the power of his killer creation had sent a shiver down his spine. It was created as a message, one that would echo behind anyone unfortunate to come across it. Everything, everyone would die, and at the time of the Organization's choosing. Anokata had liked the message, but didn't like the idea that they had something that even as the boss of said Organization 'he' could not have a cure administered to 'him'. It was then that he ordered that a cure be found. When it was proven to be as deadly and unrelenting as Gin had first explained… the formula was abandoned, and the virus locked away in an unassuming location with the best security. Some random Swiss bank if the assassin recalled correctly.

With it locked away Gin had abandoned the bio-toxin labs in favor of returning to the field. To find out that his formula had later been stolen, with the intention of it being used had displeased him to no end. The supposed cure, given to Chianti with another 'poison' was the nail on the coffin for this idiot. Not that his 'poison' hadn't proven useful in another sense, but still…The audacity to suggest such a thing was a cure!

For Sherry's benefit, Gin had manufactured the virus again, using his original formula and then the proposed one with the changes that thief had made to his original. He introduced the two viruses to living tissues, then observed the supposed 'cure' in action. The 'cure' did nothing in terms of making things better, it merely disguised the fact there was something wrong. Sherry agreed with his original theory, which he was still sticking to, the virus still could not be cured, despite the advances in the scientific and medical communities.

That some idiot had managed to get his hands on it… and planned to introduce it to varying sources around the country therefore enforcing a carrying capacity* for the human population of Japan, and then later on the rest of the world. He would probably also sell this 'cure' for millions of yen, allowing the supposed 'scientific genius' to pick and chose who was going to survive. Only what he had wasn't a cure. To be brutally honest all it did was mask the symptoms making the end result more likely... Gin wanted at least had an idea where this idiot was, and now. More importantly he needed to know just what type of quantity of the virus they were dealing with and where it was being housed.

That meant he needed the detective, more so… he needed the detective's contacts along with the detective's cooperation. The Fox had deep contacts in the police department, and in his natural size? Kami only knew what the Fox would be capable of. He'd seen the shrunken version pull quite a decent case together by blatantly dropping hints and using his 'toys'. He had yet to see what a full sized Fox could do but it was guaranteed to be impressive.

Then there was the matter of telling the Fox that yet another member of the Organization knew of his involvement… He did not relish in the idea of telling the Fox that. Not telling the rest of the Black Organization about the detective had been considered an integral part of their arrangement, after all.

While he hadn't intended to bring the Fox into this mess, it would work to their advantage in the long run if the Fox was part of the resolution. Gin had formulated a plan, but he needed Chianti and Korn on his side so he didn't have to risk pissing off Anokata off anymore than necessary. He was still aching from the last time he made the mistake of doing that…

* * *

SHINICHI

Considering how badly his luck tended to run, Shinichi made sure to take the time to bolt the door behind him as he entered his parents' house, even with how late he was running and who he was late meeting. He had enough of a mess to clean up with the Mouris, he didn't want or need to entertain anymore unwelcome visitors. He certainly wasn't in a position where he could save them from an untimely end at the hands of the resident volatile blond either… He prayed to whatever gods were watching over him that the blond hadn't decided to shoot him instead of whatever he was up to.

Then again… Why had Gin been in such a rush to meet up? Triple checking the bolt had slid into place he slid his power shoes off, he had paused at the front door to gather his wits about him. One does not simply walk into a room where an assassin is and make small talk after all... Over the phone Gin had said something about a leak, or was it Haibara who had mentioned the leak? No matter, there was a leak involved, and he was being called into action to help solve said issue. The question that plagued the mini detective was why. Why was he being shown, for a second time no less, what happens to those who betray the Organization? Or was it that the blond wanted him to be more useful?

In either case the point stood, why was the blond going to involve him? Perhaps he was already over thinking this whole thing, the detective mused as he made his way towards the study. He knocked the side of the wood frame, deciding firmly in his mind that he disliked having the blond's pistol pointed in his face for surprising him. The blond was already present as Shinichi had assumed, fingering through a well worn copy of the Sign of the Four. He seemed calm considering the topic of the meeting, the pistol had yet to make an appearance which was another good sign in the detective's book. The blond spared a quick glance his direction before placing the book aside gingerly, the action surprised the detective, but he said nothing.

"Timely as ever Fox," the blond spoke, the rumble of his voice indicating that he had been laying off the cigarettes lately, "what do you know about bio-terrorism?" Shinichi stared blankly for a moment, well that was an odd subject change.

"Bioterrorism? I haven't encountered it in any of the cases I've worked recently, but I suspect that most involve terror and poisons," Shinichi answered, "So I would gather that whatever is going on involves a plot to poison people on a massive scale?"

"If you consider the entire country a massive scale, than yes," is the remark that nearly makes Shinichi's eyes bug out. Whether it was Gin's attempt at a joke or the fact that whatever they were dealing with would affect the entire country, Shinichi was unsure if he should be crying from laughter or from horror. If it included the next phrase… clearly laughter.

"Or think that Toyota Priuses are considered a poison…" clearly that was a joke. Vermouth's voice floated in, "disgusting little things really… Good to see you Cool Guy, have you told him what we're dealing with yet Gin?" The blonde woman rubbed Shinichi's head as she passed by, with by the gods was that? Instant coffee already hot and steaming. One was handed to him, and he suspected it was a peace offering for something she had done, seeing as the other one was given to the other blond. Gin let out a low growl, and she backed away with her hands up, retreating from the doorway she had appeared from. Hadn't he locked the door? How did she get in then?

"A Toyota Prius is not a poison," Shinichi announced, "unless you drive like a massively over paid actress that needs Driver's Ed. Now, what type of poison, are we talking about a lethal one like a cyanide, or perhaps a lingering poison that causes either pain or discomfort?" Vermouth shook her head with a soft smile, ignoring the ribbing from the shrunken detective.

"More like a lingering cancer without a cure… that gets progressively worse," Vermouth spoke in an amused tone, she hesitated, "and it was developed by—" Gin had gone quite tomato red, whilse still maintaining the stony expression that had made its reappearance at the other blonde's entrance. The detective watched their interactions as he sipped at his coffee, vaguely realizing he should have checked if it was poisoned first. Vermouth further backtracked, and Shinichi wondered what he had missed.

"Enough," Gin hissed as the color further raced up his cheeks, "You!" He hisses as he points to Vermouth, a low growl thundering in between, "go help Vodka get set up, I will brief the Detective." Vermouth was about to argue, Shinichi could see it in her face, but she did an about-face when Gin's pistol was pointed at her head after her prolonged hesitation. She wandered off leaving Shinichi to wonder just why the assassin was so… embarrassed? What in the name of Moriarty had he missed?

"So, are we dealing with a poison that is going to have an effect on a country wide scale?" Shinichi asked, wanting nothing but the facts in that moment. He ignored the shade of red that painted the assassin's face, he ignored Vermouth's earlier comment about a certain type of car, and wanted to know what was actually going on.

"Yes," the assassin responded, the color fading as quickly as it appeared, "the poison was developed within the organization years ago. It was developed in secret, much like the Apotoxin, in the same laboratory most likely." The assassin shifted in his seat, the irritation in his features dissipating slowly…

"So it wasn't Haibara's, or rather Sherry's parents that created the formula we're dealing with?" Shinichi was unused to idea of having to probe an assassin for information. In all honesty, probing an assassin for details about a tool of his trade seemed marginally foolish when he considered what he was doing. It was uncomfortable for him at the very least, judging from the way Gin was answering he was enjoying his chance at making the detective squirm.

"Of course not," the pause spoke volumes, "I was the one who made it." Shinichi would have fallen over, had he been standing. No wonder he looked a mixture of concerned and irritated, he knew exactly what that could do…

"I'm surprised… and somewhat impressed. What did you create it to do? Is it something that can be cured?" Shinichi refrained from calling the assassin a genius, it wouldn't do to stroke the man's deadly ego.

"I created it to kill, and to kill unmercifully," the assassin smirked, sending a chill down his spine, "there is no cure for what I created Fox. That **woman** said it was like a cancer, she knows nothing about the matter, it was a virus." Shinichi frowned, he knew exactly why the assassin would start with a virus… It was simple, while you could treat bacterial infections using antibiotics, that didn't mean they were necessarily cured. There was still a chance to cure a bacteria related illness, but a virus? A virus had to have the exact antiviral or it was useless, for Gin to have created something based off something so temperamental and to have success at having it… hold on, he said he hadn't made a cure…

"Bypassing the fact that you don't have a cure for it, which seems foolish by the way, how does it kill unmercifully?" Shinichi inquired, the smirk looked like it could devour the foolish now…

"It was a stroke of brilliance actually, it strips the antibodies from the host's cells, lowering the white blood cell count to the point that the body can no longer combat so much as a common cold. It takes a while for the overall effect to occur, but the results were unmistakable," Gin smiled, "it also prevents clotting, so the risk of the host bleeding out is… extremely likely." Shinichi fought the urge to shiver again at the tone of that statement.

"Sounds dangerous enough for you, but why do you seem so intent to stop whomever has this formula?" Shinichi asked, unsure why the assassin was irritated at the situation.

"They changed the formula I developed for the virus, the only thing it changed was the time it takes for the formula to activate," Gin explained, he pulled a file out of his coat and held it in front of the detective, "there is no cure for this. As much as I love a good murder, the senseless taking of lives, which might have included my own thanks to this moron, I do not approve of. The boss placed the matter in my hands, I trust you won't hesitate to help now that you know the scope of the damage we are looking to prevent?"

"You're only preventing it because it's not being used for how you intended it. You are pissed because they stole it from the organization, from under your nose. You want it back, and you are going to make this 'moron', that's your wording, pay dearly for him making a fool out of your security?" Shinichi summarized, watching the twitch of amusement that crossed through the other's face. "you brought me in for what reason? You seem to know more than I do about this case, and my involvement doesn't bring much unless… You want **them** in on it, am I right?" The smirk that crossed the other's face told him everything he needed to know.

* * *

VERMOUTH (three days later)

Cool Guy was the answer, just as she and Gin had thought, to involving the CIA to clean up the mess that should never have happened. Then came the involvement of another individual that the actress herself had presumed to be dead. Imagine her immense surprise to find out that Rye was not only alive, but one of the kid's contacts. Kudou Shinichi knew Akai Suiichi, what world were they in where their enemies worked together in such a way?

It had taken her less than a day to find the target, but it had taken her three full days to figure exactly what the hell Gin had made and why Anokata had given him full reign to clean it up. Gin's reaction to go straight to Kudou, then to Anokata had puzzled her to no end. Right now however she was putting on the appropriate make up to be one of her greatest enemies, Jodie Starling. Cool Guy had set everything up, and even managed to get the agent's permission, the actress was not so convinced. Once she was finished she and the shrunken detective had arrived on site, contacting the other agents discretely to check they were in place. Once that was done she explained the plan to them…

"The deal is going down inside the warehouse," she explained quietly, "Cool kid is going to sneak in with me…" She was met by strong opposition by Starling's agents about 'Conan's' involvement of course, that situation was easily dealt with. Starling's agents were still displeased, but agreed there was no other choice at present. It felt odd to be using 'kid' rather than 'guy' to describe the shrunken detective, but she suspected it was more odd for him. Starling's nickname could easily be misinterpreted to mean Kaitou Kid instead, she wondered what he thought about that.

"When do we move?" was whispered into her ear. Cool Guy, as calm as ever was standing behind her, she vaguely noted the borrowed pistol in his waistband as he moved beside her. Gin was saying something in her other ear, it happened to be the two other snipers and not her.

" _They're moving now,"_ Gin's voice cracked through, she signaled to Cool Guy to begin his approach from the other side of the boxes they were using for cover in case of a firefight. Cool Guy drew a pistol, one that Gin must have insisted upon him earlier, moving for better cover for the now inevitable firefight. The targets were very visibly agitated, Vermouth took a deep breath to steady her nerves and left her cover to start the circus show before her.

* * *

SHINICHI

The heavy weight of the pistol in his hands was uncomfortable, but if Gin insisted that he take it who was he to refuse? It would be reliable if the assassin gave it to him, and more importantly it was more forgivable if he missed, something he disliked about the stun watch and it's limited ammo. His assignment, besides gathering the Americans to aid them discretely, was to watch Vermouth's back. Gin was leading the three man sniper team on the roof, Vodka was standing by in case something went horribly wrong with Haibara, and here he was in the dead center of everything that could go wrong.

The actress was reasonably confident in her own abilities, she also seemed to think highly of his marksmanship skills. Gin's reasoning, was that if the targets somehow got out of the snipers' lines of fire was that Shinichi would take out any targets threatening the actress. Shinichi got the impression that as much as the assassin wanted him to shoot to kill he wouldn't ask it of the detective. As long as the threats were down or incapacitated he wouldn't complain verbally.

Vermouth stepped out from behind her cover and did what Shinichi would call an excellent act of Jodie sensei's 'oh what's this' horrible English in all. There weren't any laser pointer red dots, just one… missed shot? Oh kami sama, Gin was going to be pissed. It was a sniper shot, and seconds later three targets dropped and several more worked their way out in. Shinichi scowled, there was a fourth sniper, and judging from the angle it was probably Akai from the FBI's side.

" _My lovely Koibito san, did you think I wouldn't notice your work here?"_ the voice cracked through the speaker. Akai's voice was met by dead silence, Shinichi could picture the look on Gin's face when he heard that voice.

" _So Kir did fail us, no matter. That's the thing with Americans,"_ the blond's voice was so dark, it sent a shiver down his spine, " _they just keep giving you second chances."_ The challenge was clearly there, and an amused laugh crossed the line. Shinichi was a bit too busy to shiver at the tones they were using, Vermouth had muted her mics judging from the laughter she was letting out at their expense.

"Cool kid, I advise that we clear the building now, especially with those two now focusing on each other," she relayed, indicating it was clear to leave, "tell Ishida san to leave it be for now, I'll get things cleaned up here." Shinichi nodded, that was before something behind them exploded. The police came flooding in, and Vermouth looked just as surprised as Shinichi did when Kid landed in front of them with a shark toothed grin.

* * *

KAITOU

'What on Earth?' Kid groaned, who was that crazy woman, and what was she doing here? Wait… wasn't that the Jodie sensei that Tantei kun had introduced him to? Sure enough, the crazy English woman smiled his direction waving once she saw him.

"Thief san, very good to see you again!" she announced happily, "but this place is dangerous Thief san. Right Cool Kid?" Tantei kun for his part was trying either not to cringe or not to laugh.

"What are you doing here?" Tantei kun's question was oddly phrased even for him, "it's dangerous, snakes are afoot so step softly." Snipers? Well that certainly explained the dangerous comment… The question remained in his mind, whose snipers? Were they on Tantei kun's side, against him, or just temporarily on his side.

"You missed my heist," Kid announced, he watched the expression, "you traded my heist for snipers… you could have called." He looked around, noting the blood covered men on the floor after a moment. "What sorts of trouble are you into here?"

"I had forgotten today was your heist, my apologies… No, I did not trade snipers for it," the little detective answered with a huff, "I traded foiling a country wide bio-terrorism plot. You're welcome by the way." He made a motion for Kid to get down, the projectile missed him by inches, Tantei kun was frowning up that way. Small arms(loud, but not rifle loud) by the sounds of it, pistols if the sound he was hearing was right.

"What was that for?" Kid huffed, rolling behind something as Tantei kun and the English teacher ducked.

"That would be the bioterrorists," Tantei kun ground out, "G—Ishida, do you have a lock on them yet? Or are we on our own?" He nodded his head and signaled something to the teacher, looking back at Kid with a nervous expression, "we've got some cover fire, not a lot… The good news is that the police that followed you are pushing them back in. Which is good for catching them, and bad for considering the fact we're surrounded by a very dangerous poison in the middle of a gun fight." Kid nodded, making his way towards the windows with Tantei kun.

"How did you get a gun?" Kid whispered, ducking when necessary. The shrunken detective looked up over the cover they were getting, holding up the pistol and firing at something. Suddenly smoke was raining down on them, and Kid knew that this time it wasn't coming from him. That and the smoke wasn't some brightly colored thing the thief discharged, it was that awful smelling stuff used to contain fires. The thief watched as Tantei kun snuck out of the building, he took a moment to change into one of his disguises.

Perhaps this time he shouldn't have come unannounced, no he definitely should have said something. At least this time… That was the thought crossing his mind as the police swarmed in, ignoring him in his disguise wearing hazmat gear, some exceptionally devastating looking weaponry… Son of a swordfish, this didn't look like it would end well…

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a/n: Sorry J, I just had to keep 'backpedaling' terror. Also, Song is "Oh, Oh, Oh Sexy Vampire" by fright ranger, which is all J's fault.
> 
> Random side note of the chapter…  
> “In the survey "friendship" developed by rankingjapan(dot)com in which people had to choose what anime character they would like to have as a friend, Kudou ranked third.” –from Shinichi’s wikipage. Not that it’s not awesome or anything like that, but my question is – are they friends for the detective skills he has, or for his ability to accidentally come across as many dead bodies as frequently as he does?


	35. PART THIRTY FIVE- SKYFALL

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now what was that call about? Hm... Bonus points to those who caught the Dark Knight reference in Chapter 34!

GIN

When he first saw the smoke pouring out of the warehouse he was mildly irritated, it made visibility for covering the both the Fox and the other blonde unnecessarily difficult. The Fox was at least relaying what the hell was going on down there, that the **woman** couldn’t be bothered to do so was a minor irritation. The Fox also relayed something interesting, they had been joined by the Kaitou now. Not to mention the traitor Rye, that was the last surprise he wanted today.

It didn’t appear to be a problem that he was involved when the entire country was at risk of dying, and it wasn’t any doing of the Black Org. The Fox assured him that he would handle any complications on that arose from that side of this operation anyways. Chianti was the biggest concern at present, and Gin had yet to decide on whether or not he should tell the Fox about Vermouth’s slip up. The female sniper had since dismissed the topic, but the fact remained she knew there was an informant called ‘the Fox’, and Chianti could not keep a secret.

As much as he had needed the backup snipers he was starting to regret the decision to involve them. Clearly the Fox was more capable than they were at present, even if he brought unexpected elements to the table like Rye. He would have to speak to Kir about that…

“ _Exiting the warehouse, Kid’s with me,”_ the Fox announced, promptly exiting the smoky building, “ _the smoke is just cover, it’s from the fire extinguishers I just shot. Vino is uninjured and making her way out the other side.”_ Gin managed to smirk at the cleverness the Fox displayed in tight situations…

“ _This is Kir, Bioterrorists spotted heading north, Vino is pursuing. I’m driving up to her, requesting backup from the roof squad for the chase,_ ” Kir’s update had him switching channels.

“This is Gin. Targets are heading north towards a getaway vehicle, Chianti and Korn cover from your positions or move to do so,” he barked out, switching back to the first channel, “Fox, have the Kaitou’s entourage head north if you can. Suspects are heading that way, and Vino is already in pursuit.”

“ _Understood, will do, Fox out,”_ the simple answer was refreshing. He snapped back to the other channel, after doing so he watched as the Fox and someone who looked like the regularly sized Fox took cover behind a car at the scene. The high school size, most likely the Kaitou had pulled out a walkie talkie and was relaying something over it. Sirens burst out from the north side, and there was a booming voice that was almost understandable from the roof top. He could just make out the pleased expression on the Fox’s face.

 

* * *

 

SHINICHI

Kid’s appearance had certainly made the plans change, the appearance of twice as many cops certainly wasn’t a bad thing. Gin had the rest of his team seemed to handle that well, unlike Akai’s bad timing. Kid of course had taken up disguising himself as Shinichi, which was only to be expected all things considered. Kid’s antics had Nakamori keibu chasing the bioterrorists, well most of them anyways.

The one Gin wanted had lingered behind, hoping to escape during all the confusion, a quick radio up to the assassin and a well placed shot handled that well enough. Starling’s team had left with Vermouth and Kir, leaving Shinichi to wrap up the scene with Gin and Kid. Which was rapidly becoming more dangerous if the chemicals leaking out of those barrels was any indication. The assassin had long since informed him that the virus was not spread through any airborne means, so as long as he nor Kid touched it all would be well.

“ _Fox, I’ve got an incendiary round loaded, I suggest you vacate the immediate area,”_ the assassin informed him, Shinichi grabbed Kid’s hand and took off running. Kid’s walkie talkie was still going off, and Nakamori’s voice was only barely inaudible over the ensuing explosion of the blond’s actions.

“So…” Shinichi finally asked once their ears had stopped ringing, “what did you do to Hakuba this time?” The thief smiled, and Shinichi almost regretted asking.

“Well seeing as I had already made him a clown once I had thought it only fitting to make him a mime today,” the shark-tooth grin still a little unnerving, “Nakamori’s starting to realize that when you aren’t there I’m a bit more… mischievous, shall we say.” Shinichi resisted the urge to face palm at the notion, now Nakamori would want to haul him off to the heists, not something that was necessary under normal circumstances, but still… The idea of being forcibly taken anywhere was far from pleasant.

“Don’t even encourage the man Kid, I don’t need him keeping an eye on me, in either size!” Shinichi hissed. The thief chuckled, seeming rather unbothered by the idea, then again maybe it was all part of his plan. “No one should have to endure Nakamori keibu that much, not even you.”

“Then consider this, what do you think he does to Hakuba after all these failed attempts, his meddling in the keibu’s affairs and the fact I personally make sure to mess with him every chance I get?” the Kid’s words caused a number of reactions in the shrunken detective. The first of which being amusement, the second being pity. He certainly didn’t want to know how much Hakuba had to pay for dry cleaning after each of these events…. Then again he knew it was bound to happen, so why he wore such expensive suits to a Kid heist was a horrid idea, at least to Shinichi it was.

“You’ll have to be briefed on what we were working on, that way your cover isn’t blown,” Shinichi sighed, “that and you didn’t see anyone besides the American agents working on this case, alright? You came when I called and told you about the case. I didn’t know if you were going to make it, so Agent Starling did not inform the rest of the team you were going to be here.” The Kid nodded, then his entire posture went rigid, Shinichi turned to see Gin making his way over towards them. He nodded, acknowledging the assassin’s presence before turning back to the on edge Kid.

“Do you have to be debriefed by them Fox?” the blond asked, to the point as always.

“Probably, Vermouth knows I planned on heading home though, so she’ll probably handle it there for them. I doubt there will be any follow up investigation besides the local authorities looking into the explosion following Kid’s activities,” Shinichi theorized, “Jodie sensei and her team received a memo on the suspect’s actions from ‘me’ earlier. They have agreed to cover up everything from the general public, and their agents will continue to assist the police to check the area for any remaining bioterrorists.” Kid nodded, leaning against a lamppost not daring to get any closer to the assassin.

“You interruption was quite useful this time thief, but next time…” Shinichi frowned at the assassin, he knew the man didn’t like the thief, “don’t make it a habit.” Kid nodded nervously, possibly realizing that the pistol was from him at that point.

“Well now that that’s settled, I’m glad you’re safe Tantei kun,” Kid announced leaning down to pat his shoulder softly, “I’m still not a fan of violence, unlike your pet assassin here…” He took a step back as Gin’s expression went dark, Shinichi found it hard not smile at the display.

“Watch yourself thief, I am no one’s pet. Least of all his,” Gin growled out. Kid bowed his head a little, and made his exited rather quickly at that point. Shinichi’s phone started to vibrate in his pocket, he ignored it, (figuring it was just a message from the Kaitou) choosing instead to study the newfound expression crossing his face in light of the thief’s departure.

“Is something the matter?” he asked following the assassin to his car, the assassin remained pensive. The ride to Kudou manor was quiet, more so than usual. Shinichi suspected that it was bad news, and that it was about him considering the assassin’s brooding demeanor once he asked. 

* * *

YUSAKU KUDOU

“Come on Shinichi, pick up…” he mumbled, looking over at Yukiko in concern. The actress was breathing softly, no indication that anything was really wrong with her, save the bandage across her head and monitor beeping over in the corner showing her heartbeat and blood pressure. When his son didn’t pick up he called Agasa, the professor answered fairly promptly.

“ _Moshi Moshi, this is Agasa hakase_ ,” the cheer in his voice made Yusaku feel bad, he didn’t like ruining people’s days with bad news. He just didn’t know where to get a hold of Shinichi, and he knew the professor had a much better chance of finding his son quickly than he did from the States.

“Afternoon Agasa, it’s Yasoku. I’m trying to get a hold of my son, Yukiko’s been in a car accident,” he explained, the gasp at the other end of the line failed to surprise him, “the doctor’s here say she’s going to be alright, but there is bound to be a media circus about it. More so for the circumstances that it happened than the fact that it’s Yukiko who was hit. Oh, and since he will probably ask, no she wasn’t driving like she normally does when it happened. Have him call me when you get the message to him?”

“ _Of course Yusaku kun, I’ll tell him as soon as he gets back. He’s knee deep in thwarting a bioterrorism plot with the CIA at the moment, that might explain why he’s not answering his phone,”_ Agasa informed him, “ _Give Yukiko san my best, and I hope she gets better quickly.”_ Yusaku nodded, looking over at his wife fondly, of course their son was caught up in something again. Sounded like he had the matter clearly in hand if Agasa’s tone was anything to judge by.

“That sounds just like Shinichi, make sure to tell him. Her condition is stable, and she’ll probably be offended if she wakes up and he hasn’t called to check on her,” Yusaku smiled, imagining his wife’s temper at the idea. The good doctor laughed lightly with him, and bid him adieu.


	36. PART THIRTY SIX- When It Rains...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will try to have the next part up by mid April. Takes place after the bio-terrorism plot of the last chappie, at Kudou manor. Course that kinda goes without saying doesn't it…. ^_^* I am terribly sorry for the skipping around, I hope it's not too confusing. Please enjoy Vodka in all his clueless glory. Oh, and please enjoy!

GIN

"In earlier news, our sources have reported that there were American agents working with our local police departments. Sources also say that their goal was to thwart a massive bio-terrorism plot," Kir reported with that creepy doll like smile staring back at her viewers, "Nakamori keibu was unavailable for comment, but Megure keibu of the Tokyo metro had this to say—" satisfied, Gin switched off the television. Kir. She could handle putting a spin on it, and her producers believed her story, going by the broadcast style he saw.

He frowned. This was the same Kir that failed in her task to eliminate Akai Shuichi. She would be considered a traitor as soon as Chianti got back to HQ. If the female sniper said anything before he got back anyway, Gin wondered if it was worth keeping the reporter alive after such a blatant act against Anokata's orders.

Kami sama, he still had to tell the Fox about the Chianti Situation… He was not looking forward to telling the Fox that Chianti had gotten wind he was working with an outside force, and considering that she had been on that last mission she probably knew who the Fox was now… He wondered how the detective would react. It was an unspoken part of their deal that no one else would know that the shrunken detective was involved in the Organization's affairs.

The blond sighed, taking a sip of the coffee that the Fox had brought him when they reached Kudou Manor. The assassin wasn't looking forward to this… he looked forward to shooting people, not notifying others of their mistakes, at least not without some form of bodily harm. Currently the Fox was occupied making some calls in the kitchen, a couple were in reference to the Bio-Terrorism incident, making sure no one had any questions about his involvement or had any suspicions about the Organization's involvement. The last one might be too obvious for even someone like the Fox to cover up though.

The Fox seemed to be just as paranoid as he was, judging by the half of the conversation he could hear. Someone on the other end of that line was not happy, Gin smirked at the idea of some FBI agent's plans being changed because the Fox said they had to. So he could be manipulative as well as clever, too bad the Fox had no intentions of joining the Black Org's ranks, other than just with assisting Gin's own missions.

"No, I can't explain what they were doing there. The only thing I can tell you is what was in the warehouse is better off gone," the Fox spoke calmly into the phone, coffee firmly in hand, "you want a reason? It had no cure, I think I can get to the schematics if needed… No, I already told you I don't know." Gin watched the Fox field questions for a couple hours, it was amusing to see someone else do all the 'hard' work for a change. He hung up the phone and looked at his now cold coffee sadly.

"Which agencies did you deal with?" Gin asked watching the expression on the Fox's face.

"Which one didn't I? CIA wanted to know what the hell was going on, they got my number from the FBI. The FBI said I jeopardized some ongoing mission to infiltrate the Organization with that 'little' stint. The police department found out 'I' was involved so I had to explain things from that perspective as well thanks to Kid, and now my coffee is cold," the Fox growled nearly spitting out his favorite substance, and for the first time since he met the Fox he was met with a cold stare, "just what did Akai mean by my lovely Koibito san? Is there something you haven't told me?"

"Rye has called me that ever since he was outed as a traitor," Gin shrugged, "why, should that mean something?" The Fox blushed, mumbling something that Gin couldn't quite pick up.

"No, not at all," the Fox sputtered. To the detective's visible relief the doorbell rang, the Fox was off and running before Gin could read anymore of the Fox's tells.

SHINICHI

That last question that the assassin put to him, it was… surprising to think about. He found himself jealous of Akai's comment, his familiarity with the assassin. He wondered who would be stopping by at this hour, seeing as Hattori was still in the hospital for two more days and Kid wasn't coming anywhere near the assassin for the time being. Shinichi frowned, he wasn't exactly tall enough to check the peep-hole of his own front door anymore. As the bell rang again he cautiously opened it, weary of visitors while the blond was in the other room.

"Ah, Shinichi kun!" Agasa Hakase greeted him warmly, "how did your errand go earlier?" Shinichi wondered if the assassin would mind if he let the professor in.

"Only the terrorists died, no real casualties on our side," Shinichi gestured for Agasa to come inside, "what brings you over Hakase?" Agasa nudged his glasses slightly, and a serious expression appeared on his worn face. "Now's not a good time for a visit, I still have one of the agents here tying things up." Agasa nodded, looking towards the study doorway then back to Shinichi again.

"Your father called, he was trying to get a hold of you earlier, but you were still out on your case," Agasa spoke softly, "he called me when you didn't answer. Have you talked to him yet Shinichi kun?" He placed a gentle hand on Shinichi's shoulder which confused him further, why did Agasa feel the need to comfort him?

"He's probably just being nosy again," Shinichi thought aloud, "did he leave a message?" Agasa nodded grimly, "what's wrong?"

"Your mother… she was in a car accident Shinichi," Agasa's hand felt like an anchor now, the older man was watching him carefully, "she's stable according to your father, but you should call—" Shinichi was already pulling out his phone, dialing an often neglected number in his contacts. Guilt settling heavily on his mind as he noticed the missed call notification, he hit send. After the third trill it connected.

GIN

He could hear the entire conversation from his position in the study, the Fox seemed genuinely upset at the news. His voice was strained, Gin figured he was returning his father's earlier call. There was a pause, a heavily silence before the Fox spoke again.

"So she wasn't the cause of the accident? That's a relief, wait… Are you serious? No, it doesn't mean anything to me," the Fox sounded relieved, "so 'kaasan is okay, really okay? Yes, I'll call back sometime during this week… No, absolutely not, that case is none of your concern. It's been handled, no… and yes. Yes, yeah… no, yes, alright… take care of 'kaasan. Yes, of course, bye."

Gin busied himself reading the margin notes of the Holmes book while the Fox took care of his unexpected guest. They were an interesting insight into the detective's mind he discovered. He had noticed the scribbled notes when he was leaving messages for the detective early on. The detective's observations of Holmes and his methods… they spoke volumes more than the Fox's body language did at times. The Fox knocked on the doorframe before entering the study, causing Gin to smile inwardly. It seemed that the detective was tired of guns pointing in his direction.

"That was my neighbor, my father called him earlier when I didn't answer my cell," the Fox explained, slowly sitting down in his usual chair, "my mother was in a car accident earlier today." He leaned back in the chair, Gin briefly wondered why he was moving so oddly, then recalled the boy still had his pistol.

"Where'd you leave the pistol?" he asked. The Fox frowned and reached behind his back. After tugging slightly he stood up and walked towards the assassin with a displeased expression.

"It's stuck in my belt," he muttered tugging at his pants futilely, "if you would?" He turned around pulling up his shirt to reveal where the pistol was wedged.

"Hmm.. you've got the holster clip stuck on the tag of your pants," the assassin informed him, carefully removing the clip without jarring the weapon to much, "did you finish the clip, or this still loaded?" The boy's back clenched, Gin looked up to what he could see of the Fox's face.

"No, there's still rounds in it, and I think one's chambered actually," the Fox shrugged against him as the thing was removed, "why did you give me an American pistol anyways?" The assassin chuckled as he checked the gun's action, where sure enough a round was loaded, he ejected the clip and the round placing them on the table beside the Holmes novel.

"The Americans like their guns Fox. Unlike the standard police weapons that Sig Sauer won't jam even though it's clip fed. It's accurate to at least 70 meters for the standard shooter, I can hit targets at 100 meters with it easily," Gin responded as the Fox turned to face him looking intrigued by the idea, "the caliber that you had, .357 has enough punch to stop a bear. This model also has an inter changeable barrel allowing it to be .357 or .40 cal, meaning you can have the punch of the .357 or you can choose to toy with your enemies."

"Why would anyone…" the Fox cut himself off when he remembered just who he was speaking to, "never mind. So what were you brooding about earlier?" Gin scowled, he had no idea how to tell the Fox about Chianti and the problems she had the potential to create for them.

"I was not brooding," Gin settled on, "Vermouth's an idiot." The Fox snorted into his coffee, settling down amused in his chair. He took a sip out before remembering it was cold, he shuttered placing it back aside and out of easy reach.

"You have told me this before," the detective smirked, "what has she done this time?"

"She let your name slip in front of Chianti," Gin scowled, a look of panic went through the Fox's face, "not that name, she's not that dumb. She was speaking to Vodka and Sherry at the time and said something about 'the Fox' in front of Chianti." The look of panic was replaced by weariness.

"That's a relief…" the Fox murmured. Gin shook his head, indicating the story didn't end there.

"Chianti was on the last mission, there is a possibility she knows who you are now," Gin informed him, "this wouldn't be a problem if it were anyone else, but this is Chianti. The only thing Chianti is good for is shooting people." The Fox looked puzzled, meaning he hadn't caught on to the issue yet. "Chianti is a shooter because she can't keep her mouth shut."

"Ah," the Fox leaned back in his chair, "in other words, she's a blabbermouth?" Gin nodded, the detective seemed to be considering his options, "well, what do you suggest we do? Can she be trusted? Where do her loyalties lie, with you or…?"

"Fox your guess is as good as mine at this point, all I know for sure is that she hates Vermouth more than I do," Gin shrugged, "by extension I would assume that includes Anokata as well."

"Then there really is no way of knowing until it comes down to it," the Fox sighed, "this makes things more difficult, doesn't it?"

"Yes and no. She knows you on sight as 'the Fox', not by either of your 'identities', which plays nicely into our hands," Gin thought aloud, "she might come to me, or even you for assistance in the future." The Fox looked at him oddly.

"Why does that play nicely into our hands? I thought you didn't want me involved in anyone else's affairs," the Fox asked looking far too old for his seven year old body.

"Simple, Chianti will owe us, and having an assassin owe you is a good thing," Gin smirked, "or so I have been told." The Fox looked like he didn't believe him at all.

SHINICHI

"Still, I'm worried…" he mumbled, his mother's accident only the latest of bad events, "I keep worrying that the next time I get a call, it won't be to tell me she's okay, but that she's…" The assassin did his best to look concerned, it didn't work but Shinichi realized that was what he had been attempting.

"Your mother?" the blond asked, "she's alive isn't she?"

"Yes, but still something is bothering me about that whole situation," Shinichi hadn't been meeting the assassin's eyes, he didn't want the man to believe him weak or something along those lines.

"I'm not a mind reader Fox and we don't have time for you to draw this out," the blond said looking at his watch, "I have to drop you off and report to Anokata in less than a hour." The detective resisted the urge to smile at the thought of the assassin driving him to the Mouri's after his help today.

"I understand, but do you remember what Vermouth was saying about Priuses? How they were a poison?" Shinichi asked, the assassin nodded, "that's what my mother was hit by this morning. My father told me that the accelerator got stuck and that they rammed into the back of my mother's car, at speeds upwards of sixty mph." The assassin's eyebrow raised, it would seem neither of them believed in confidences.

"Vermouth's words, I doubt she meant them as some sort of warning Fox," the blond remarked looking thoughtful to the situation, "that woman was just expressing her personal dislike for the vehicle."

"Yeah, but now the manufacturer has issued a recall on those models for faulty brakes and sticking accelerators. My mother's accident was just one in several recent incidents for that model," Shinichi wondered how much the master of disguise knew, "it's just particularly odd that something she mentioned would—"

"Forget it Fox, that woman's riddles only lead to massive headaches," the assassin cut him off, "I need some scotch…"

"Speaking of things I'm not supposed to have, we may have another issue," Shinichi spoke up as Gin stood in preparation to leave, "the other pill was taken from me. The family I'm living with stumbled upon it…" The assassin replaced the clip in the borrowed gun and clipped the holster under his jacket to something Shinichi couldn't see. His expression was unreadable, that worried the detective.

"What do you expect me to do about it? You already told me you don't want me to shoot them Fox," his voice was flat, showing his irritation at the idea, "until you get that pill back I'm not giving you the next one. The fact they think you're some kind of druggie is not my problem, I expect that to be handled by the time we next meet Fox." He stood smoothly, meaning his ankle was feeling better.

"I'll take care of it, but I thought you should know seeing as they probably think I got it from you anyways. I have no intentions of telling them what it actually is of course, that would raise to many questions for everyone involved," Shinichi spoke thinking aloud, "but I have to ask… Did you really stumble upon an actual antidote for the Apotoxin?" The assassin turned to him with a smirk, looking especially pleased at that moment.

"We are still synthesizing it, it has all the right markers," Gin smirk was contagious, "if all goes well you can expect another visit for a blood sample, that way Sherry can to test it for any complications. She's testing it against lab mice right now, I expect she's waiting." Shinichi nodded, watching as the assassin made off with his battered copy of 'the Sign of the Four' without so much as a word. He smiled to himself, perhaps he was rubbing off on the man under that cold exterior. Gin tucked the book in a pocket and made to leave, Shinichi's mind final realizing that the man had made a serious offer to drop him off at the Mouri's.

"Just let me wash these out!" he called. When he didn't hear the front door open his smile grew ever so slightly. Thoughts about how maybe things wouldn't be so bad when he was finally cured racing through his mind.

VODKA

The portly agent wasn't disappointed to be left behind, Gin had briefed him on what was going to happen, and he was left back at headquarters in the unlikely case that they needed backup. Not that anyone needs backup smaller than the size of a small army if his Aniki couldn't handle it… Chianti and Korn had returned hours ago, Gin was still in his debriefing with Anokata when Vermouth strutted in, she looked awfully pleased with herself. Vodka narrowly avoided what would have been a strenuous conversation with her by sheer luck.

A brief mention of Gin still being in Anokata's office was enough to get her into the elevator with a hesitant look of her own. Chianti had already told him everything anyways… About his Aniki's super virus, how it was stocked sky high in the warehouse in the middle town, which eventually blew up, with the police already surrounding it on all sides chasing after the Kaitou Kid, who had crashed the mission for some reason. The involvement of the CIA, FBI and the Kaitou Kid squad was enough to make his blood go ice cold with worry about the whole ordeal. Not to mention her warnings that his Aniki's wrath would be upon whatever sniper was stupid enough to miss their shot and shoot early.

Vodka shook his head, making his way towards the sanctuary that was Sherry's poisons lab. No, he was definitely not disappointed to be left out of that madhouse of a mission. All appeared to have gone well by the account he heard, and the fact Gin wasn't done debriefing with Anokata was also a good sign. It meant there would also be a healthy doubt about the Organization's involvement in the ordeal, or at least their motives if they were.

He almost wanted to call the Fox about the matter… The detective brat would surely know just how well or bad the mission had gone. He would know, and according to his Aniki the detective was far better at analyzing these things than he was.

"Don't even consider it," Sherry warned as he walked in, reading his mind easily, "he's been dealing with all those agencies for Gin, and I just got off the phone with him anyways. He doesn't know much, you're better off calling Kir." Vodka didn't bother to ask, Sherry was always able to tell what he was thinking now-a-days.

"Has Chianti been in yet?" he decided to ask. The small scientist shook her head, looking rather amused about something. "Kir—" He was cut off before he could say another word.

"Did her secret finally get out then?" she asked pointedly, Vodka's mouth dropped open a bit, "you forget I spent a lot of time with a certain detective." The big man nodded taking a seat in the corner to wait for his Aniki.

"Did you know that Rye is alive then?" he countered when the shock wore off. The small scientist shrugged, continuing her earlier work without much reaction.

"I suspected as much when I found out about Kir's dirty little secret," Sherry answered, she was no longer interested in him apparently, "he saved my life while I was out there you know? The Fox thinks he's respectable, but he's a bit pissed at Rye's nickname for Gin." The scientist tapped the side of a petri dish, then looked out the window expectantly.

"What nickname would that be, I didn't know anyone was brave enough to give Aniki one…" Vodka asked hesitantly. Last time Sherry told him something he had a hard time forgetting the images it conjured in his mind.

"His lovely koibito san, the Fox didn't approve," she smirked, "looks like Gin's having a good day today at least. Now, out! I have work to do unlike the two of you. And when he asks, no, I don't need anything from him. I need a decent blood sample, that's it." She made a shooing gesture, and Vodka found himself shoved out the door unceremoniously before it was locked behind him. His Aniki was looking at him curiously before continuing on his way to the Organization's shooting arcade.

"Aniki?" the portly agent watched as the blond turned around, "I heard the mission went well." The blond nodded, making a motion for Vodka to follow him, Sherry was right again, Gin was in a good mood.

"Chianti?" the blond spoke softly enough that Vodka almost had to ask him to repeat that. He nodded, and the blond spoke again, "did she say anything about the Fox?" Vodka shook his head, checking to see if he had his pistol on him. That was before Gin handed him one, his Sig! He had wondered where it was this morning….

"You took my gun?" Vodka asked in surprise, "I thought you trusted me Aniki… What about Kir?" Gin looked amused, his mouth twitched, "what are you going to do about it?" The blond pulled out his berretta, ejected the clip to check he had rounds before replacing it in the hilt. Vodka shut the door behind him as Gin pressed the on button for the gallery.

"It's not my problem," the blond spoke evenly, "Anokata already knows, and hasn't ordered that hit. It's not my concern unless Anokata makes it my problem." He took aim at the small targets and released a hail of bullets on the defenseless metal targets. Vodka was glad he wasn't on the other end, but he wondered why Gin took his gun…

As his partner recanted the mission they picked off the little metal targets, a practice they had gotten into long ago when they went on separate missions. He would never admit that the story as Gin told it made his palms sweat and his heart race even though he had already heard the story from Chianti. The blond assassin still seemed off though, as if there was something more to his singularly objective mind. The blond's overly pleasant chatty mood, which since he was shooting that mood should have been totally natural. Only the blond wasn't concentrating on his shots, that much was obvious.

Nine rounds taking out eleven, occasionally twelve targets, Vodka was getting jealous, his gun slipped as shot thanks to his now sweaty palms. Even as he was getting jealous he was worried, he'd never seen Gin get this… whatever it was… over someone. Call him a worry wart, but he was concerned about what this detective was doing to his partner. He told the blond as much, which only resulted in the range clearing even faster, you'd think he mentioned a sale on hollow point tips or something.

The overall change in his moods, patience, even his posture would be enough to make anyone who knew the man notice, but it was the almost smile in his eyes as he spoke about the detective that said the most to Vodka. The detective was inciting a change in his ever cold, dark, and dangerous partner, not through anything that he said, but through the actions he took around and for the blond. Gin didn't seem to notice he was dangerously close to humming some ridiculously happy tune when he'd seen the detective.**

At least it wasn't as noticeable as a bright pink neon painted sign yet, but if the blond started humming it might as well be. Whenever Gin spent time with the detective he came back in what could almost be called a pleasant mood, at least for him anyways. Almost ridiculously so if one considered the last decade of the blond assassin's life anything to go by. Over the last few months the blond's impression, or at least the one he was giving Vodka, was that the Fox was less of an unwanted bump in the road and more of a… the portly agent blinked. The expression his Aniki was making at present made him lose his train of thought.

"What's the matter Aniki?" he managed to ask. The blond leaned back ejecting his empty clip for another full one, the stunned expression still creeping its way across his features. That was a frightening idea, Gin at a loss for words.

"I… it's odd Vodka," Gin started, dark green eyes going in and out of focus as he tried to find the words he wanted, "… this strange feeling that's creeping across my chest. It's like I actually care or something…" Vodka raised an eyebrow as he finally managed to hit some of the targets before Gin cleared the board again. He shifted an eye to the blond as the targets reset, what the hell was the blond babbling about? "How is this possible…"

"How is what possible Aniki?" Vodka verbally probed. Certainly it couldn't be any more embarrassing than when he found out all the terms of Gin's deal with the Fox. He was still tempted to look up that item that Vermouth had mentioned awhile back. He really wanted to see if there really was such a thing as 'brain bleach', because the idea sounded ingenious. How else was he going to erase all the images Sherry had conjured in his mind?

"I actually care about what happens to the Fox," Gin answered, still shell shocked by the idea. Rather than replying with something redundant, because Vodka had long since figured that out by himself he decided on an answer that probably would not get him shot.

"It happens Aniki," the portly man shrugged.

He also knew better than to say anything else, but there was more to it than simple disbelief. Vodka suspected that Gin cared more about any subject regarding the Fox than he would be willing to admit aloud, and when the blond discovered that… The day said blond realized it would probably be the biggest shock of his life.

Vodka was just going to take a shot in the dark guess, while wearing a blindfold… Okay, maybe he was using his imagination too much today, he could admit that. The fact remained , Gin hadn't really dealt with any emotions save for the sole exception of 'resounding and unbridled hate' in the last decade. Or at any point in time prior to the Fox's new found influence. That was if he even took the time to acknowledge whomever it was he was feeling it about even existed.

"Consider it a… good thing," Vodka added as an afterthought. All the assassin did was nod in response.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ** specifically the lines- "I've got sunshine… on a cloudy day… Well I guess you'd say… What could make me feel this way?" My Girl, by the Temptations. Vodka, you secret sap…


	37. PART THIRTY SEVEN- It Pours

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shinichi talks to Mouri about the antidote, Heiji shows up during said conversation and everything seems to go wrong for the shrunken detective for a bit. Heiji gets to hum the 'secret agent man' theme, Shinichi does not appreciate it. 
> 
> Gin goes to talk to Sherry to talk about anything other than his Fox. His conversation goes only moderately better than Shinichi's, it leads to him being in a worse mood overall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Again sorry if this is confusing… It's not exactly being clear with me either… Also for everyone worried about Yukiko, she's fine. Mild concussion, but otherwise fine. She makes her reappearance next chappie. Thanks to FireStorm and Hittocerebattosai for the help editing this beast. This first part from Shinichi's PoV takes place before Vodka's scene last chapter.
> 
> Oh, and Heiji is an idiot, don't let him fool you, he's an utter idiot this chappie, not to mention I've decided not to be creative about that, so… Kuroi- black, because I don't feel like finding another word for Kudou, yea…you'll see. Sorry for the utterly awkward switch it makes! Also the note with this is** referring to child which is pronounced Kodomo. More Heiji related translation issues… ugh…
> 
> I'm aware it is a really slow plotline in terms of the romance. It is kind of irritating at times that is so slow and the yet the idea of those two falling in love with each other is so appealing that it makes me want to do it the right way, which unfortuantely for all us rabid fangirls is quite slow because these two are such stubborn morons at times. Enjoy everybody!

PART THIRY SEVEN- IT POURS

As Gin drove off to deal with the Organization directly, Shinichi got the distinct impression that he was being watched. The shrunken detective's paranoia was already in overdrive after his dealings with the Black Organization earlier. He searched for his would be observer carefully, his eyes darting back and forth; seeing no one he resumed his trek up the stairs. He let out an impressive yawn as he reached for the Agency door handle. Between thwarting the Bioterrorism attempt that morning, and the taxing calls with the American agencies afterwards, he was thoroughly exhausted. All he wanted to do was go pass out on his futon for the night. Too bad he had to deal with Mouri first…

Mouri turned to face Shinichi as the smaller detective opened the agency door slowly. The elder detective looked vaguely surprised to see him, but turned back to his television program, uninterested beyond finding out who was coming in. The fact 'Conan' was home before Ran was probably all that was interesting to Mouri.

It had actually been the assassin who mentioned it might take more than a single day to deal with everything, so 'Conan' had planned with his pseudo-family accordingly. Shinichi had planned for up to three days if needed, but being home that first night might cause Kogoro some slight confusion. Sonoko had kidnapped Ran for the weekend once she found out that 'Conan' was going to be gone. Shinichi sat down on the client couch, fully prepared to 'bite the bullet' to get the antidote back. That last phrase would be literal instead of figurative, otherwise.

"Occhan," he started meekly, "can we… talk?" The elder detective set down his newspaper, and muted the news that he had playing. Shinichi swallowed thickly, he wasn't looking forward to this, but at least Ran wasn't there… That made telling the half truths considerably more bearable for him.

"Is it about why you're home early? Most of the time when you make plans like this," Kogoro punctuated the statement with his hands, "you end up showing up just before school… You were involved with that explosion downtown earlier, weren't you? How is that going to see your little friend, that one that moved away?" Kogoro accused correctly.

Shinichi nodded, admitting that the elder detective's connections were correct. He also raised his shrunken hands reflexively in defense, this was already quickly getting out of hand. The elder detective wasn't staying on the topic he needed long enough for him to get a chance to explain anything! Best to start where he was most uncomfortable then…

"Well actually, there's more to it Occhan…" Shinichi frowned, but it was best to do it now while he had the chance to explain without undue interruptions, "Hattori niisan, he told me you found it. The pill I had hidden, that was more or less what I was talking about. Unless you'd rather I tell you about what happened at the warehouse," he acknowledged unhappily before continuing with, "which I might add is going to be all over the news for the next few weeks to remind you to ask me later?"

Kogoro's pinched expression gave Shinichi the impression he was thinking it over. The elder detective moved to his usual couch. Score! The elder detective didn't appear to expect the topic about the pill to come up willingly it seemed.

"You hid drugs here, and you expected me not to find them?" Kogoro accused, "Conan, you know what type of clients we normally deal with, and I know you know better than to mess with things you don't understand, so why did you hide drugs in my office? Or do I need to have that baggy dusted for fingerprints to get you to confess?"

Shinichi wanted to laugh inwardly, if only it was as simple as that...

"I didn't want you to find out about it, it's something I am honestly ashamed of Mouri Occhan. I would like to clarify to you something very important about what you found though," Shinichi hesitated for a moment, he needed to phrase this very carefully, "that pill you found was not a drug, but an antidote. A specially designed antidote." Shinichi easily read the surprise on the other detective's face, clearly he hadn't been expecting that.

"Then why did you hide it, and what exactly is it an antidote for Bozu?" Mouri asked, not sure whether or not to believe him yet.

"It's an antidote for an environmental poison that Haibara and I were exposed to. I was afraid that if you found out I had this condition that you wouldn't let me go on the cases anymore," the idea of being unable to go on cases was a somber thought indeed for the shrunken detective, almost as bad as that first case where Ran had to rescue him…

"So you thought you would expose Ran and myself to this as well?" the elder detective looked irritated with him.

"You're wrong, it's not like that at all!" Shinichi countered, the thought of either of them being exposed to the Apotoxin was horrifying, "It's not contagious, both of us just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"That seems to happen to you a lot Bozu," the elder detective commented.

"I can't help the fact I'm curious…" Shinichi grumbled, "but the fact is that it's not a drug Oochan, it's an antidote for my condition."

"So then why did your mother leave you here with us, if that's even the case," Mouri questioned, "wouldn't she want to make sure you were okay rather than leave with relative strangers who knew nothing of your condition?"

"I… I couldn't go with her, the places that okaasan travels… they would aggravate my condition…" Shinichi explained in sad tone, it was more like she worked at irritating him because he was back to this size again… "She's traveling around looking for a cure right now, that's why she doesn't call so much. She doesn't want to get my hopes up, so she tries not to bring it up when we're together. She had just left me with Agasa Hakase when Ran met me at Kudou san's house. 'Kaasan left the first antidote for me at his house a couple of months ago, and I left it there because I didn't want you to know…"

"You should have told us anyways Bozu," Mouri leaned down to look him eye to eye, "why were you trying to hide this from us?"

"I thought that if you knew you'd treat me differently than you have been," the smaller detective turned his gaze downwards, he knew how to sulk if nothing else, "I especially didn't want Ran neechan to know for that reason. I can't even remember what my condition is even called… only what it causes when it's acting up." Shinichi wondered idly if Kogoro knew he had stained several spots of the rug with cigarette ash…

"So what happens when it's acting up?" the elder detective asked. Shinichi had to pause at that, he couldn't exactly explain that it was always acting up. Or that it made Kudou Shinichi shrink into the size of a small child, no… neither of those answers would do…

"It why I get colds so often, and it's related to all the fevers I get. It weakened my immune system so I have to be extra careful," Shinichi answered, "and the antidote doesn't completely eliminate the symptoms so much as mask them temporarily… That's why I don't take it most of the time, it's only for use in dire situations when I can't avoid it. That said its better than no antidote at all."

Everything he had said was true of course. He had taken some of the answers out of context, but the fact remained that he only given Kogoro the truth. Which meant that there was little that was send the detective to go looking for answers that Shinichi didn't want him to find. Shinichi's mother was looking for a cure, it just so happened that Gin and Haibara were the ones manufacturing it from scratch. He was also testing their prototype antidotes for the Apotoxin, and they were so fleetingly temporary otherwise he wouldn't be in this mess in the first place.

Well… at least one of these messes.

Kudou Shinichi was the single worst liar in the history of the world, he suspected nothing ever would change that. He did however luck out when it came to Kogoro drawing the wrong conclusions for his situations most of the time. He hadn't managed to put two and two together about the fact that Kudou Shinichi and Edogawa Conan were the same person, even if Ran had very nearly outted him with her own suspicions…

"Conan," the elder detective spoke, "I think I understand what's going on here…"Shinichi cringed inwardly, what on earth had he got himself into now… Then a gentle hand game to settle on his shoulder "… the fact is Bozu, neither of us would think any less of you just because you're not perfect."

"Occhan," Shinichi wasn't sure what to think…

"That said don't ever hide something like that in my office without telling me again," Kogoro growled, "wouldn't want some else to get the wrong impression. Like Megure keibu, okay bozu?"

"Ok Occhan, what are you going to tell Ran neechan?" Shinichi didn't really want to go there, but he had to know what the other was going to say. The elder detective remained quiet for a moment, possibly picturing what he was going to tell his daughter and her reactions…

"That it was a misunderstanding and not to worry about it," Kogoro decided, "Bozu, you do know that you can always come to us if you get in over your head, right?" Shinichi nodded, relaxing visibly now that the confrontation with the other detective was over.

"Thanks for believing me Occhan, a lot of people wouldn't have," the shrunken detective added. The elder detective smiled a little at him.

"It makes it really easy for me to believe you when you tell me the truth Conan," the elder smirked in that moment, "besides the only person who lies as bad as you do is that detective brat. If you hadn't told me the truth it would have been painfully obvious." Shinichi inwardly groaned, of course Kogoro would have noticed that… The hand left his shoulder as the elder detective sat back on his own couch rather than continue to kneel comfortingly in front of the younger detective.

"That's very true," Shinichi conceded quietly.

"I wouldn't have sent you away anyways," Kogoro reached for one of his cigarettes, "since you came to stay with us I seem to have gotten my groove back with my cases. I was worried for a while there that damn detective brat was going to make all the business around Beika dry up."

"That wouldn't have been good," the younger quietly agreed.

"No, it wouldn't have," Kogoro confirmed, "but then you came to stay with us. It seems like my luck has finally turned around." The elder detective smiled slightly, and it sent a warm feeling of content straight to Shinichi's heart. It was nice to know the elder detective didn't actually resent Conan's presence or anything like that.

"Luck is a fickle thing Occhan, maybe it's just your good karma finally arriving from taking me in?" Shinichi countered. The younger detective honestly didn't believe in luck or karma considering his luck at running into things that more often than not tried to kill him. Whether he stumbled upon a body or not…

"Eh, maybe it's just the will of the gods, maybe they are finally considering giving me a chance with Yoko chan," Kogoro mused, "well whatever it is I'm glad it brought you to us Bozu. Sorry I didn't so it so well those first few months." Was Kogoro referring to his daily head thumps, or was that just his imagination?

'Try years if that's the case…' Shinichi thought to himself dryly, aloud he managed to say something else, "I promise not to hide anything like that again Occhan… I didn't mean to cause any trouble, really." The elder detective sighed, getting up and stretching out his back slowly.

"I'll hold you to it Conan, because if a detective's word is no good than he is worth nothing," Kogoro explained as he made his way to the liquor cabinet, Shinichi inwardly groaned as a familiar baggy was pulled out from next to the Paikaru. Of course they had put it there…

"I understand Occhan," Shinichi nodded, just managing to hide the exasperated look at the Mouri's collective idea of a hiding place. Kogoro didn't seem to notice, or more than likely didn't seem to care about the little detective's slightly sour look about where they had put his antidote.

"We can put this in my room then, that way your friends don't try to take it," Kogoro said as handed over the baggy, "next time just hand it to me, that way we can avoid this talk next time." Shinichi nodded, by sheer dumb luck his story seemed believable enough to elder detective… Thank Kami sama that he had the guts to get it done.

"Okay Occhan," Shinichi answered with one of Conan's happy smiles, "what are we doing for dinner, the café's closed isn't it?" There was a reason Ran cooked all their meals after all, Kogoro could happily live off of only of beer and cigarettes.

"Well then it's a good thing I'm here isn't it?" Hattori announced as he burst in, "there's got to be a decent place to get some grub around here, and I'm sick of hospital food." Shinichi knew Mouri was staring at Hattori as well, hadn't he done enough?

"Then go by yourself, and take the Bozu," Mouri announced, evidently bored by Hattori's arrival, "after all my Okino Yoko drama should be on next!" The elder detective gushed, getting a soft smile from Shinichi, same old Occhan after all.

"Here, just let me know where later, ok?" Shinichi handed him back the Apotoxin antidote. A show of good faith, hopefully he could avoid any more of these misunderstandings in the future. Shinichi however forgot just who was standing next to him though…

"Are you sure that's wise Ku-ku-kuroi! That's it kuroi!" Hattori corrected himself hastily, "There's… well there was a Kuroi* clothed man over there!" Shinichi couldn't tell if Heiji had actually spotted someone in black or if he was making it up to save his own skin. Mouri of course didn't know anything about the Black Org. or its members so this diversion tactic didn't actually work that well on the person he was intending it for… Well, if it was a diversion at all.

MOURI KOGORO

His latest chat with Conan had gone so well too, and then he had to show up. Why did Hattori Heiji seem to follow the child around like a plague? Then again why was he sure Conan had told him the absolute truth about that pill? Actually… that last one wasn't really a question, Edogawa Conan's lying skills were actually worse than Kudou Shinichi's, anything but the truth would have been obvious.

"Heiji niisan… what man in black?" Conan asked cautiously, in a voice that made their earlier conversation all the more real for Kogoro. The brat hadn't been hiding things when it was just them, and now he had that sickening sweet undertone that made Kogoro's detective senses twitch in irritation.

Edogawa had gone from completely relieved to stressed out then to blank all in matter of seconds, that child was seriously thinking something over. Did he know a man in black? Was that who he was with earlier during that explosion at that Beika warehouse? He had so many questions, but he couldn't ask them with the Osakan high schooler there… or could he?

"And?" he pressed, perhaps he could get them to blurt it out. Conan had a carefully constructed look of utter calm, but there was the utter stiffness of his shoulders and rigid spine that screamed panic. The same one Kudou once gave Eri when she spoke to him.

This was the behavior that was absent earlier when the boy was telling the truth.

"Eh?" Hattori responded, looking back and forth between Conan and Kogoro nervously, "Well I just thought, ah never mind… It wasn't really that important after all." Conan sighed, the sputtering way the Osakan's sentence came out made Kogoro's bullshit detector go off louder than an air raid siren. Not important his ass, why else would he have said it? Not to mention Conan's reactions to it… Come to think of it… He'd ask the brat at a better time.

"A man in black clothing is always important Heiji niisan," Conan scolded in a childish manner, "it could be a bad guy hanging around waiting to kidnap me or Ran neechan, it could be someone who's spying on Occhan, or it could be someone who's just out for no good in general…" Kogoro could have snickered, that sounded like something the other members of Conan's Shonen Tantei would say rather than Conan himself…

"Or it could be just another detective on the hunt for someone suspicious," Kogoro threw in just to remind them he was paying attention, "either way it's never just nothing. What did this man you saw look like?" Kogoro questioned, Conan nodding beside him in earnest. The Osakan looked very nervous still…

"He was tall I think… really tall. He just took off, running down the road as soon as he saw me looking at him," Hattori answered scratching behind his ear as he looked up and to the right. Kogoro scowled, who did this brat think he was kidding with that show?

"Hattori," Conan's voice was deadpan, confirming Kogoro's suspicions that there was a reason for him to want to know about a man in black… well besides the exaggerated reasons earlier, "what type of idiot tries to lie, especially in a room he knows is full of detectives?" So Conan had caught that tell as well. It appeared the smallest detective was learning something from staying with him, the Osakan had the decency to look embarrassed at being caught.

"I'm insulted that you even tried to lie to us, now try again," Kogoro grabbed a cigarette and lit it before casting a suspicious look at both of the younger detectives, "and both of you have yet to explain to me what is so interesting about some man dressed in black. We have all the time in the world, and I'm listening." He leaned back against the couch daring either of them to object, the funny thing was that Conan had the more interesting expression. Clearly the Bozu was the one who knew the most about that last subject, did that mean the Osakan actually knew anything?

Kogoro suspected that either one of two things was about to happen. He was either in for a great story that he was hardly going to believe, or it was going to be the biggest load of bull he'd ever heard… Well, that was besides Ran's suspicion that little seven year old Edogawa Conan was actually that stupid, detective, brat Kudou.

HATTORI HEIJI

Kudou's questioning certainly hadn't helped him think of anything better, it wasn't like he wanted to say something about someone in black clothes! Hell, he should have just said child**, Kudou's ego be damned. Now here he was sitting on a couch trying to outsmart Mouri Kogoro alongside Kudou without telling the old man about it actually being Kudou that was sitting next to him.

"The kid here keeps telling me about some strange guy in black," he started off, jabbing a finger towards Kudou, "and I thought maybe that was the guy. Then again I don't know that much about that guy." Kudou's expression, if not murderous read something along the lines of 'Hattori, if I didn't believe in non-violent solutions…' that didn't bode well at all for Heiji…

"And yet you thought he was a woman," the shrunken detective muttered under his breath just loud enough for Hattori to make out, "It's just Ishida san—" Mouri han looked less than convinced, in fact… The old man looked more like he was downright confused if Heiji wasn't mistaken.

"I fail to see what Ishida chan has to do with this," Mouri han responded flatly, Kudou was having a difficult time trying not to laugh. What the hell was so funny? Did Mouri han also know about Ishida before him?

"No no, not Ayumi chan," Kudou explained with a shake of his head, "Occhan, Ishida san is a very tall man who wears mostly black clothing. That's just his undercover name while he's here, he actually works for some super secret spy organization or something like that." Kudou's voice had long since gone into its overly childish little kid voice. During this Heiji couldn't help but hum the 'Secret Agent Man' theme. Kudou spared him a short glance that spoke volumes, but mostly about how not amused he was.

"Sorry," Heiji muttered.

"Anyways he's kind of like a darker version of Kid san, or perhaps a not so evil Night Baron. Isn't that right Heiji niisan?" Kudou's shark-tooth grin as he looked to Heiji was completely deceiving.

Heiji had no idea who the hell the Night Baron was, and he shot Kudou a look that said that clearly. Then again, maybe he did know… He remembered the name vaguely, why was it so familiar? Wait… Kudou's father wrote mystery novels didn't he? Oh shit, that's exactly what the other teen was referring to. Well damn, way to make him feel like a total idiot. Now that he knew what Kudou was referring to…

"That's a good way of phrasing it, guy's extremely good at whatever it is that he does. He got into a sort of rough spot a while ago, even had to call in Kudou to fix a mess for 'im," Heiji responded without really thinking. When he saw the shrunken detective's shoulders tense he realized that somehow he'd made a major mistake, not that he knew what it was…

"He actually managed to get through to that detective brat?" Mouri han's scathing tone sent a shiver down his spine.

"Yabe…" Heiji mumbled trying to think of a way out of his last statement. Leave it to Kudou to save both their asses, smirking little bastard.

"Actually Occhan, Shinichi niisan sent me instead since he couldn't go," Kudou clarified in that obnoxious high pitched voice of his, "Shinichi niisan thought I would be able to handle it." Mouri's expression was a mixture of displeasure and not quite buying it.

"That detective brat sent you, a primary student, all by yourself with some secret agent guy who happens to dress in primarily black to help him with some random case?" Mouri han clarified in a tone that meant he didn't believe a word of it. Heiji resisted the urge to smirk back at the shrunken detective, he knew exactly how to fix this one.

"Actually Mouri Han, that's exactly it," man Kudou was going to owe him one for this, "just ask Ran san, he arranged the whole thing with her."

"Really?" Mouri han didn't sound convinced at all, "then how come 'your friend' Ishida san didn't call on-" Mouri paused for effect, "Mouri Meitantei when that detective brat was unavailable?" The shrunken detective exchanged a look with Heiji, which Heiji figured said something like 'because he's a fraud and doesn't know it…' either way neither of them was about to say that.

Taking Kudou (in whatever size he was at that moment,) was better than an entire department of police detectives, not that Heiji would ever admit that out loud. Kudou might let the idea to his head, as it was the shrunken detective was cooking up something interesting judging by the smile crossing his lips.

"Oh but Occhan, he might have been too intimidated by how famous you are to ask you!" Kudou's childlike voice giving all the necessary awe as well, "since Shinichi niisan hasn't been in the news lately he thought it might be easier for him to blend in." Kudou had left Heiji an opening as well, hoping to further boost the eldest detective's ego.

"Yeah Mouri han, Kudou and I don't stand out so much as a Meitantei like you does," Heiji added, "perhaps it was a matter of secrecy? I can't imagine that he'd want his bosses to know he had to hire a detective to finish one of his cases…" Kudou nodded, silently agreeing with the statement.

"Hai, can you imagine Occhan? Trying to turn in a receipt for your time as a business expense, when he's actually a super spy… Ishida san would have been in big trouble with his bosses I think…" It was then that Heiji realized their true goal. Mouri han started into a rant about how famous and well known he was. 'His' unique ability to uncover the most difficult pieces of evidence and traps despite all their tricks to cover their tracks, he was so engrossed in his boosting tales that he failed to realize that was exactly what Kudou wanted.

Mouri han, who was so pleased about their remarks had forgotten all about his questioning of the two younger detectives, making both of them smirk uncontrollably even as the eldest continued on his stories of the glory days. Kudou's secrets would be safe until another day, or at least until Heiji himself had a chance to peel them out of him.

GIN (sometime after Vodka's PoV from the last chapter)

After the shock wore off the blond, he retreated to Sherry's chemical lab, she was still in the process of testing the antidote for the Apotoxin. Even if it was an ungodly hour in the morning now instead of a reasonably late hour of the night, Sherry was still working on it. Her dedication to it was surprising, then again she wanted to see the detective cured as much as the shrunken detective himself wanted it. The blond wondered if he should be worried that Vodka, Vermouth, and Sherry were all aware of his emotional attachment to a certain detective…

The portly agent hadn't seemed overly concerned by the development, he didn't seem to think that Gin's own thoughts on the matter would interfere with the Organization's objectives… Vodka's unconcerned comment of 'it happens Aniki…', what the hell was that even supposed to mean? What happens? Well, people had to die, that didn't mean the detective had to like it, but Gin did. He definitely enjoyed the feeling that came from murdering someone in cold blood, but the idea of doing that for the Fox? That just made it that much more appealing…

"You can stop thinking about it already," Sherry's voice broke through his murderous daydreams, "he has that effect on everyone." The large shadows around her eyes indicating how much, or in this case little she was getting. He raised an eyebrow, watching as she had a silent stare down with her latest microscope, Gin resisted the urge to smirk as she pushed the offending machine aside.

"What are you talking about?" Gin asked flatly. Sherry probably thought he was being sarcastic, sadly… he wasn't. One look at his expression told her as much, Sherry had cornered the market on reading his expressions a long time ago. Too bad she couldn't teach the Fox to do the same… (Elsewhere a certain detective sneezes…)

"You're here in my lab, at this hour no less. No, I don't really care what time it is either so don't tell me. That fact, it means you want to talk about him," she explained lacing her fingers, "you are not going to talk to Vodka about it, Vermouth is certainly out of the question for the obvious reasons, so that leaves little old me. I know both of you, which seems to be the main reason you decided to talk to me about whatever is bothering you." She signaled for him to take a seat, well her seat as she moved to where more of their antidote experiments were taking place.

The problem was, Gin didn't want to talk about it.

"Vodka… he wants to know where he can buy brain bleach," Gin started with, Sherry started snickering uncontrollably, falling off her newest stool to her feet, "should I be asking why?"

"I could tell you, but then you'd decide to kill me," she informed him between snickers. When the shrunken scientist had composed herself again she looked at Gin with a serious expression, "as for my earlier statement Gin, I mean it's okay to worry about that idiot."

"Does he know you call him an idiot?" Gin asked, the shrunken mad scientist smirked in response. The assassin could only wonder how that went over, the Fox seemed overly sensitive about being called anything other than his actual name.

"Of course he knows," she answered before moving towards yet another microscope, "we have an understanding, when he acts like an idiot, I call him an idiot. Trying to get to know you on a personal level… that is more than idiotic, it is suicidal. Then again why are you avoiding talking about that idiot?"

"Getting involved with me on a personal level is suicidal?" Gin questioned, the scientist shot him a look that said he really should know.

"You are an assassin, how else was this thing you two have going on going to end?" she spelled it out, "he's a detective and you kill people. What other ending is there? Oh wait, him arresting you. You'd shoot him before that happens and we're back to square one, he's suicidal."

"Why is that the only ending it can have?" Gin didn't disagree, that was the way he suspected things happened to anyone Chianti got involved with, but Gin wasn't Chianti. That and the Fox wasn't just anyone.

"The Fox will not join the Organization, you and I both know that," Sherry turned away from the microscope, "and that is why there can't be another ending." Gin found he didn't want to talk about the Fox anymore with Sherry, mostly because he didn't want to think about the idea of him having to shoot the Fox right now. Sherry got the hint after several minutes of prolonged awkward silence.

"If you're going to keep dancing around the subject than leave, I have actual work to do," Sherry made a shooing motion, "unlike you at the moment." That last grumbled statement struck a nerve with the blond. He growled as he left the her lab, leaving Sherry to her research and him in a considerably worse mood than he started in.

He didn't want to talk about that to anyone, he had thought that Sherry of all people would have understood that. Clearly she didn't judging by her irritation and shooing motions. Damn that irritating woman, brushing him off like that, it wasn't like he had another option. He stalked the halls trying to decide if he should: a.) go back and threaten Sherry, b.) call the Fox, and Kami sama forbid, whine to him about her, or c.) find someone else to torment until he was satisfied…

Tormenting Kir was a temptation, as was the idea of tormenting Chianti, and… well, he still wanted to know how Rye survived. Kir would have no one to blame but herself.. and Sherry and, well, and maybe the Fox indirectly…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: ~~"I could tell you, but then you'd decide to kill me," she informed him between snickers.~~ Indirect reference to "I could tell you but then I'd have to kill you" dates back to WWII during the planning of 'D'-Day when a body was left with the supposed 'plans' on where the Allies were going to attack when a Spanish soldier (then an ally of Germany) found it. Or one could say this quote was made popular when Dr. No (the first James Bond 007 film) was released back in the sixties.
> 
> There was a reference to the 'Candy Con' fic where Yukiko was using a crying young Shinichi to get herself sweets, but my beta and I decided that it didn't belong in here.
> 
> Omakes:
> 
> "Does he know you call him an idiot?" Gin
> 
> "Does a bear shit in the woods? Of course he knows," Sherry


	38. PART THIRTY EIGHT- SOUNDS OF SILENCE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fallout from the FBI/CIA because of Gin messing with Kir, text messages... lots of text messages. Kaitou Kid dressing up as Gin, the Shonen Tantei following Shinichi relentlessly, and Araide having a seriously bad day. Oh, and Kazuha comes to collect Heiji.

**PART THIRTY EIGHT- THE SOUNDS OF SILENCE**

* * *

SHINICHI (the following day)

When he got the panicked call from the CIA Shinichi realized that maybe being directly involved with anything related to the Organization wasn't in his best interests. Rena/Kir's superiors were… displeased, that was the best way to describe that three hour phone call, and their sister agency (the FBI) hadn't been in a much better mood when they got into contact with him again either. Clearly expressing that either he turn over his contacts to the CIA, or that he should stay out of it completely.

Being called a snooping brat hadn't helped his ego much either, not when Hattori was sitting in the corner laughing at him the whole time he was on the phone with them. The fact they were speaking regular paced English to a Japanese child, seven or not, hadn't seemed to occur to them either. At least the fact that normally when foreigners spoke that quickly to most native Japanese speakers wouldn't understand what they were saying, let alone the complex words they were using in context with 'Conan' during these conversations.

"They sure seemed genuinely upset with you this time Kudou, what did you manage to do this time?" the Osakan asked, he was playing around with one of Shinichi's footballs.

"I didn't, and give me that. You're going to break something! I think **he** did something… no I'm sure he did based off the number of phone calls I just got," Shinichi sighed… What the hell was Gin doing riling them up like this? His phone started vibrating again, this time it was Haibara. Dare he answer it?

"Who's calling the Ice Princess?" Hattori unhelpfully joked, Shinichi scowled at him, "ah… sorry. Couldn't help it…" He rubbed the back of his head handing over the football. Shinichi flipped open his cell and took the call with more than a little worry.

" _He's being difficult, please deal with him immediately._ _ **CLICK**_ _-"_ Haibara informed him before the phone went dead. Shinichi was about to call back when his phone alerted him to a new text message.

~ _Aniki is just mad at her, please ignore S. V… not that V. V~_ Shinichi just about snorted at that message. Leave it to Vodka to be the one to brighten his day.

"Well, what's the message say?" Hattori whined from his seat.

"That Ishida san is just mad at Haibara, and not to get involved," Shinichi responded still smiling, "I doubt it's just her that he's irritated with… considering all the calls I've been getting. What I don't get is why they're calling me like they expect **me** to do something about it…" He settled into his chair.

"Well, can you do something about it?" the Osakan asked, "seeing as all of those sources are calling you to do something about Ishida?" Shinichi sent him an incredulous look, he wasn't sure he would be able to do anything. In fact he was fairly positive that he wasn't part of the problem this time.

"I'm not sure I want to be involved…" Shinichi announced, "if he's that upset with the other agents, I don't think it's really my place to get involved in their affairs as an agency."

"Then why are they calling you?" Hattori questioned, "surely they've got better things to do than harass you about one agent's actions."

"You would think so," Shinichi laughed hopelessly, "but then again, I do understand why they want something done about it. Ishida san's version of being pissed usually involves no small amount of bullets. It's also best I stay out of it unless he comes knocking on my door." He wasn't about to explain to Hattori that they wanted him to calm down a highly irritated assassin.

"Who said anything about knocking?" a shiver ran through Shinichi's spine, he turned to see Akai. The man was less than two meters behind him, "he's not the type to knock on doors from my experience with him." Heiji looked far too curious for his own good at this time.

"Who?" the Osakan's mock confusion had Shinichi shaking his head.

"This is Akai Shuichi, one of Jodie sensei's co-workers," Shinichi explained ignoring Heiji's attempt to find out more information, "Akai san, this is Hattori Heiji." Akai for his part just raised an eyebrow, the shrunken detective wondered what he had done wrong now…

"I don't think he was talking about me boy," Akai clarified leaning against a bookcase, "your acting is terrible, you would do better to stick with detective work. How are you connected to **him** , and don't play dumb with me like you did with my superiors. I know that you've had contact with him."

'You don't know the half of it,' Shinichi thought, he wished that Akai had been a bit more timely in his interruption. Then again… "I should ask you the same, calling him 'my lovely Koibito san' isn't that just asking to piss him off? Perhaps you're the one who has him all riled up!" Akai's face went dark, wrong comment to make…

"Don't turn this on me bozu," Akai's face could definetly rival Gin's about now, "not when you know the truth. You know what happened to Miyano Akemi, you were there." The sheer level of guilt and anger pouring off Akai made Shinichi wish he hadn't uttered that last sentence aloud.

"Miyano san…" Shinichi remembered her death, and how much changed that day, "the one Ran reminds Haibara of… my apologies. That makes a lot more sense now why you said that. Are you sure you can win a match against that person?" That day that Gin killed Akemi in cold blood for the money she stole for the Organization, that day that she died in Shinichi's arms after trying to get Haibara's freedom.

"I already managed to wound him," Akai looked rather pleased at that moment, "right here where everyone could see it." He pointed to his left cheek, Shinichi froze, he had seen that mark. Gin didn't bother covering it either…

"Oii, who are we talking about now?" Hattori interrupted, "Ishida san or what?"

"I don't know anyone named Ishida, the man we're talking about is Gin. He is a well known assassin of the Black Organization," Akai spoke, lighting a cigarette, "bastard tried to have me killed by the CIA plant, but you already know this. Don't you?"

"Of course," Shinichi responded, "their displeasure and shock at your arrival yesterday was enough to clue me in that they tried to have you killed. You are FBI after all."

"Enough about me, what's with 'the Fox' bit? That seemed to be in reference to you," Akai let out a puff of smoke, "especially with Gin calling you that." Hattori raised an eyebrow, his shoulders stiffening uncomfortably. Kami sama this was about to get bad…

"How dare you believe that Kudou could be involved with those guys!" Hattori yelled, "Ahou, why would he have anything to do with such dangerous criminals?"

"Hattori…" Shinichi face palmed mentally, perhaps he could get Gin to take mercy on him and just shoot him now. Kami sama it was preferable to enduring all of these slip ups…

"I don't care why, the fact is that he is," Akai glared at the Osakan. Hattori's temper just seemed to flare at the idea, convinced beyond a doubt that there was no way Shinichi could ever be involved with them willingly.

"Baka! The only connection that Kudou has to that Organization is that they were the ones that SHRUNK him!"Heiji's roar echoed off the surfaces of the study, "they've done nothing that Kudou kun would want to be any part of, so I suggest you leave." Heiji's suggestion was more of a threat than anything else. Akai didn't look threatened by the Osakan either…

"Akai san," Shinichi looked at him seriously, "I have no intention of helping them. Vermouth or Sharon Vineyard was a friend of my mother's, she arranged the whole ordeal to save lives instead of ending them. How could I refuse when it saved most of the country?" Mostly the truth, since Shinichi was such an awful liar.

"That's not what my contacts told me, but have it your way. You'd best remember what side of that law you actually work for Kudou tantei," Akai warned, "or they'll end up dragging you down to their level. I'd hate to see you fall in with them after all the good you've done so far…" Hattori it seemed had heard enough, he personally escorted the FBI agent out the door. While he was Shinichi's phone buzzed again, indicating he had yet another message.

~ _My apologies, I had no idea he would get this upset when that slipped earlier. As I figure you've suffered enough for the night I have taken care of the problem at this end. There shouldn't anymore unlisted angry calls, at least for the night… ~V~ *chuckles* Vino. Good one.~_ Vermouth's text was considerably longer than Vodka's. He wondered exactly what she meant by that though, how could she take care of a problem everyone had been calling him to fix? Nevermind… He didn't want to know.

"Kudou, care to explain any of what I just missed to me? 'Cause someone here was lying, but my bullshit detector was so busy ringing I couldn't tell who was causing it," Heiji asked taking a seat.

"I wish I could Hattori," he confessed, "there's a lot you need to know, but not yet. You tend to get yourself into trouble… almost as much as I do. I'll tell you soon, just not yet. Can it wait for now so long as I promise?" The Osakan raised an eyebrow, then threw his arms in the air.

"I give up trying to figure it out, but if you don't tell me… Shit will fly Kudou, starting with your short ass," he said with a wicked smirk.

"Hattori, if all goes well you won't be able to make good on that threat," Shinichi smirked, finally in good humor for the first time that night. Hattori looked even more puzzled.

THE FOLLOWING MORNING (Monday)

"Shin-chan!" his mother gushed over the phone, "how are you? Yusaku said you were involved in that explosion. Is Ran chan alright? What about your little friends?"

His mother seemed just fine despite everyone's concerns after her car accident, if anything Yukiko was extra peppy. She talked Shinichi's ear off, asking all the things she could. Then she told him that she'd be released in the next couple days, and that all she really had was a light headache. It felt as though a huge weight had been taken off his shoulders when he got off the phone.

"Was that your mother?" Ran's voice made him jump, he hadn't heard her come up during his phone call with Yukiko.

"Ran neechan you scared me," he answered, "she's doing well, asking how school is going… how my friends are… you know." He shrugged, getting down from his rooftop perch to watch over downtown.

"That's a dangerous place to sit Conan kun," she reminded him, "but that is good to hear. Are you ready for school?" She was watching him like a hawk, but what else was new?

"Sure… Ran neechan?" he asked softly as they headed back down the stairs towards the agency. Ran nodded indicating she was listening, "I heard that Shinichi niisan might be coming back soon." Ran smiled, tears growing at the corners of her eyes at the statement.

"That's great news Conan kun," she replied equally softly, "we're off for school Otousan!" Kogoro gave a grunt from in front of the television, he hadn't been drinking himself into a stupor lately. Shinichi wasn't sure he even wanted to know why…

On the way to kiddie school Shinichi's phone alerted him that he had text, and it wasn't until lunch that he was able to check and see it was from Haibara. She needed blood to test the newest (and likely) final antidote against, Shinichi however had a bigger problem, she was sending Gin to collect it after school if he read her note right. The Shonen Tantei had barely left him alone long enough to read the text, how the hell was he going to escape them long enough to have the blood drawn?

He sent her a quick message back, also asking how the blond planned to get said blood from him. The response was less than a minute later when he decided the kids would probably discover he was using the bathroom to avoid them if he waited much longer. It was as follows:

 _~Not my problem. Figure it out yourself detective._ _Haibara~_

Some help she was, today was not going to go well he decided. Things were simple enough, Heiji showed up along with Ran to pick them up of course, and that was when things got over complicated… again.

* * *

HATTORI HEIJI

Even the best laid plans don't always go as planned, poor Kudou had even worse luck than he did in that aspect. Kazuha had managed to track him down, and informed him that she was there to 'drag his broken ass home' as she so thoughtfully put it. Not that he was about to disagree with her, but he was dreadfully curious about why Kudou looked quite so terrified every time he looked at his watch.

Alright, so terrified might have been a bit of an exaggeration, but when the shrunken detective had **that** expression it never meant anything good. Had Ran discovered his secret or something? Too bad Kazuha had already stuffed him on the train, he really wanted to know what was bothering the shortest detective…

* * *

EDOGAWA (SHINICHI)

As Hattori's train pulled away Shinichi felt his last strands of hope snapping, he had hoped the Osakan teen would be able to keep the others occupied long enough for him to get his blood drawn. A sense of impending doom had settled in, he had never been 'late' to one of their meetings before. Shinichi had this unexplainable hunch that the assassin wasn't the most patient of people, and that waiting longer than a few minutes wasted precious time that he could use to do something else.

'Like killing more people…' Shinichi thought to himself, Kami sama he was being pessimistic today. His phone alerted him to another text, it was from Haibara. Hopefully it was good news this time…

_You're in luck detective. Arrange 'that' with Araide, I also made an appointment for a certain blond to have his arm checked._

The Shonen Tantei meanwhile had lead him to a park, that one that Shinichi first ran into them so long ago. A case with a mysterious dog owner that happened to actually be a guitar case and not a dog, and a lot of interesting circumstance, not that they would remember it…

"Oii Conan, don't drift off on us! We want to know about the Kaitou Kid incident the other day, the one with the bomb and the warehouse!" Genta shook his shoulders rather roughly. The movement made Shinichi slightly sick, Ayumi noticed and guilted Genta into letting go.

"It would help if you didn't make me sick first," Shinichi muttered, "I have to go see Araide sensei as it is." He sent the good doctor a text asking if he would draw the blood for him. Ayumi and Mitsuhiko looked upset at the idea, while Genta looked terrified.

"Are you alright Conan kun? Why do you have to go see Araide sensei?" Ayumi questioned.

"He's got a check up, it's what happens when you play in a warehouse filled to the brim with poisons," a shiver ran down Shinichi's spine, "isn't that right Tantei kun?" Shinichi turned with a glare to face this new speaker, the first syllable had sent shivers through his spine. At least until he heard the 'Tantei kun', sure enough it was who he thought, he was just disguised as a certain blond. To anyone else it might have been 'Gin', but not to Shinichi. His text alert went off again, a quick glance at it revealed that it was Araide with an answer to his request.

"You would say that… seeing as you were there," he commented nonchalantly, "isn't that right, Kid san?" Kid for his part smiled, breaking character completely only for a moment. He did look around cautiously though, Shinichi snickered. The three remaining Shonen Tantei instigated a huddle, leaving Kid and Shinichi to themselves for the moment.

"He's not here, but if he catches you dressed up like that you know he'll make good on his latest threat," Shinichi warned, "why are you here?"

"Just checking in on you, wanted make sure my favorite Tantei kun wasn't going to miss my next heist," Kid answered with the slightest of pouts, "that and I wanted to know if I should be getting any sort of antidote myself."

"Selfish as always," Shinichi smirked back at him, "no, my appointment has to do with Kudou kun, not the events of yesterday. I can't help it if your heist lands on a day I get kidnapped to stop a bioterrorism plot Kid san, and you know that." Kid shrugged looking over at the exaggerated expressions the Shonen Tantei were making.

"What are they talking about over there anyways?" Kid asked changing subjects again.

"Those three are debating whether to turn you in to that conveniently nearby park officer or to question you about the explosion last weekend. Their sense of justice is competing with their curiosity," Shinichi answered pointing at said police officer.

"Lucky me," Kid answered in his attempt at the blond's voice, "looks like their curiosity just won out. Are you going to tell your pet assassin about my current costume?" That last line was said just loud enough for Shinichi to hear. The Kaitou was forgetting that Gin was actually laying off the cigarettes lately, or supposed to be anyways.

"Depends on what kind of mood he's in, if he's in good humor… probably. I doubt that he is," Shinichi answered, "his 'friends' have been keeping in touch." Shinichi took the time to look over the message he got from Araide sensei.

_Not a problem Conan kun, I have a break in about an hour where I could get that done for you. If that works I'll see you then. Araide_

"Well my chances of living to being nineteen are increasing again," Shinichi muttered, "Araide sensei was kind enough to squeeze me in today."

"That's good Conan kun," Ayumi smiled, "Kaitou Kid san, what actually happened when Conan kun left us behind?"

"Well…" Kid looked at Shinichi who nodded, "I tell you, but only if you promise not to tell anyone or make Tantei kun late. Can you promise me that?" They nodded eagerly, and Kid started into the elaborate story of what he thought happened. It was times like this that people forgot that Kid was a master thief wanted in multiple countries.

* * *

ARAIDE TOMOAKI

His day had just gone from boring to way too interesting all in the span of an hour. Starting with the call from that little girl scientist. She was making an impromptu appointment for the scary blond man he had given an x-ray a couple months ago. Then he got a text message from Edogawa kun, who he remembered was actually the shrunken Kudou Shinichi, the detective was asking if he would draw some blood for him. The clinic luckily wasn't very busy today, otherwise he worried about what might happen with a murder magnet and an assassin in his clinic at the same time… again.

The doctor sighed, that blond scared the living hell out of him, but because Kudou would be there to at some point the idea wasn't as scary as it should have been. Then again did Kudou really have to tell him that the blond was an assassin last time? It certainly explained a lot… Speaking of the shrunken detective, that was a positive text response that he was coming later.

"Araide sensei, there's a blond man in to see you, he says his name is Ishida," one of the clinic nurses informed him, "sensei, I could call the police if he's here to…" Araide sighed, of course that man was going to be early. He shook his hands in the air discouraging her to utter the last few words of that sentence.

"That won't be necessary, Ishida san has an appointment. I've treated him once before, so I'll handle it," Araide put on a brave façade for the nurse, "if Edogawa kun happens to show up, please send him in as well." Truly he wanted to say, " _if Edogawa kun comes in please send him in to rescue me."_ It wouldn't do to put everyone on high alert, it would just get them killed the good doctor suspected.

"Will do sensei," the nurse lead him back to the front of the clinic. Araide spotted the tall blond waiting next to the counter and approached only after the blond noticed him.

"Welcome back, I've got a room already for you, please follow me," Araide wasn't sure what he was expecting, but the semi casually dressed blond didn't look nearly so scary this time.

"Has **he** contacted you yet?" the blond asked, fiddling with one of his sleeves.

"If you are referring to Edogawa kun, then yes. I instructed the nurses to send him in when he arrives," Araide answered quickly, "I need to take a look at your arm, and make sure everything is still in place. I'd also like to take a look at your ankle." The blond waited for Araide to shut the door before removing his coat, then his shoulder holster and pistol, then the deep brown turtle neck he was wearing.

"You don't need to look at my ankle," the blond answered as he placed the coat in the patient's area. What was left was a highly muscular, very scarred, and volatile blond man. Araide felt himself wondering what could have left all of those marks on the other man's skin, but felt it was best not to think about it. The cast on the man's right arm was intact, but showed very little… dirt?

"Have you been covering the cast up the entire time?" the doctor wondered aloud, the blond nodded taking a seat on exam table, "why don't I need to examine your ankle?" The blond's blank expression didn't change, it was terrifying if the doctor could be frank about it.

"It's fine," the blond responded, but pushed his shoe off regardless of the fact that he didn't think he needed to, "I can support my weight on it again, and it doesn't hurt when I push in the clutch anymore."

"You were driving a manual- with that ankle?" Araide asked in disbelief as he waited for the blond to remove his sock. He wasn't in a hurry to touch the blond, (he suspected that the smaller the amount of contact he had with this person the more likely he was to come out of this uninjured in the end,) he valued his safety too much for that. Once it was removed the doctor took a look at it, "It does look like it's mostly healed, the swelling is gone in any case…" He did a small examination and concluded that while the blond had been hard on it, (despite his recommendation to stay off of it,) it had still healed well.

"Is there a smoke detector in here?" the blond asked, seemingly bored as it took him far more time to put the sock on than it took to get it off.

"No, but I would prefer you didn't smoke with me in the room," he responded eyeing the way the blond was acting with the cast on, "did you act like your arm wasn't broken the entire time?"

"It wasn't broken, it was shattered," the blond nearly growled, clearly irritated that he wasn't allowed to smoke, "no, I didn't call attention to the fact it was shattered."

"Well I need to take this cast off to get a better look at how it's healing," Araide informed him. As he was sawing away at the cast there was a knock on the door, "who is it?"

"Edogawa Conan, tantei san," was the immediate muffled reply.

"Come in Conan kun, I'm working on Ishida san's cast," the doctor was surprised by how much pressure that took off his shoulders. The shrunken detective shut the door and walked over to a chair, it appeared that one of the nurses had given him a water bottle on the way in.

"I don't **know** what **you** did yesterday, but I do know that I don't want to be the phone with any more Americans anytime soon," the detective spoke as Araide continued to saw at the cast, "Akai also showed up at my house as well, so please stop provoking them."

"If you want to blame someone, blame Sherry," the blond looked away, he had an unlit cigarette in his mouth now, "but what did Rye want?"

"Nothing you didn't ask Kir I'm sure," the detective responded dryly, "what did a certain blonde woman mean by her text last night? She said she'd take care of it…" Araide got the feeling they were talking around him, not that he cared, he really did NOT want to know what involved an assassin, a shrunken detective, a lot of irritated Americans, and a bunch of alcohol.

"There! Let's get this cast off then, Edo… um could you assist me please?" Araide wasn't sure what to call Kudou anymore.

"Conan kun works just fine Araide sensei. What do you need me to do?" the shrunken detective asked with a smirk.

"I need you to tug this side softly as I push from the other side while keeping it open so that it slides off," Araide instructed, "I might have had a nurse do it, but the one that's on shift is terrified of this guy."

"Heh, I'm not surprised," the shrunken detective answered, "by the way, Kid's taken up using you as a disguise now. I inferred that it was not a wise idea." The blond let out a low chuckle, and there was a very scary expression on his face now.

"He's not very intelligent, despite never having been caught by the police…" the blond responded in a callous tone.

* * *

GIN

When Sherry made the appointment he was unsure what she was thinking, they had been tinkering with an experimental formula involving bones during the last few months. His arm had been more than a little tender when he decided that their formula had been doing well enough to warrant human testing. That was most of the reason he was here for the appointment, the specific equipment that Araide's clinic had could shed more light on their little project than that of theirs at HQ.

"Tell me about it, he announces his heists to the police before he goes after his prize, then he returns the blasted things," the Fox mumbled, "he tried to dress up as me to fool Ran a couple of times, it didn't exactly work well for him."

"I can imagine," Gin answered. The Fox hadn't said much about the girl acting as his guardian, but she didn't appear as slow witted as the morons Gin usually worked with.

"She went so far as to slap him actually, that may be because she figured it out after he kissed her," the Fox had a smug grin at that, "neither of us figured out how she knew he wasn't me, but I have my suspicions."

"There's never a dull moment in your life at all," Dr. Araide stated as he pulled the cast off carefully, "Is there Conan kun?" The detective nodded briefly.

"It may have something to do with the fact he is incurably nosey…" Gin responded moving his arm up to get a look at it before being draped in that large lead apron again.

"Alright, we're all set here. If you would just hold still for a few minutes Ishida san we should be done with your arm soon," Dr. Araide instructed. Gin nodded, he was amused by how the doctor was attempting to pretend not to be unnerved by his presence. The Fox's decision to tell the doctor the truth had made this whole situation just that much more amusing. Then again some doctors are best left in the loop if you want the real results.

The x-ray machine didn't take as long as he remembered, but that may have been because he wasn't as caught off guard this time nor was he in super paranoia mode. Vermouth's little diversion might also have something to do with that, but he doubted it would affect his attitude this long.

"Um… could you rescue me from the kiddie brigade by chance?" the Fox asked wandering back into the room, "I also need to talk to you as well." The assassin quirked an eyebrow at the shrunken detective, he was asking him for help?

"What about?" the blond asked, "its not like the doctor here doesn't already know about who I am after all." The look on the doctor's face however gave the impression that he really didn't _want_ to know anymore than he was obligated to know.

"It's information of a more private manner," the detective answered noticing how uncomfortable Araide was getting, "are you ready to draw the blood Araide sensei?" The doctor nodded with a light dusty rose coating his cheeks.

"If you could take a seat Conan kun I'll begin," the doctor replied nervously.

* * *

KAITOU KID ~TWENTY MINUTES LATER…~

It was of no surprise to Kaitou Kid when he noticed Tantei kun sneaking out with the blond assassin, he did his best to keep the kids distracted so he could make his escape. Tantei kun had been looking rather ragged as of late, what with all the events of the last few months. At first Kid had been more than a little concerned about his favorite detective's mental health, thus his overly frequent trips to check on his little Tantei kun.

Judging by the way 'Conan' was holding the assassin's hand with a content expression his fears were unjustified for the moment. Well, his fears for Tantei kun's safety anyways, the assassin caught his eye and the thief could see him going for what could only be his gun. A smooth save on Tantei kun's part kept his shooting hand occupied, and the attempt was thwarted before a serious incident could arise. He would need to remember to thank the shrunken detective later. Perhaps he a shower of something other than confetti and pink sleeping gas next time they encountered in the field? He would have to work up something special for the occasion.

"Kid san… why did you suddenly go pale?" Ayumi chan asked.

"It's nothing, but I would like to check in with Araide sensei all the same," the thief whispered.

"Ishida san? I thought you just left with…" the doctor cocked his head sideways. Kid let a soft smirk grace his face as he winked, a slip in his poker face to ease the doctor's fears.

"My apologies sensei, I was wondering if you would look over something for me," the thief smirk softened into a smile to ease the mood. That didn't seem to ease the nurses' collective fears as they spotted him (in his current costume) following Araide sensei deeper into the clinic.


	39. PART THIRTY NINE- RISE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some conversations are had, and some explanations are delivered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My apologies, it has come to my attention the original version posted of this chapter was not the one I was intending to publish. Again my apologies for the mix up.

PART THRITY NINE- RISE

The trip from Araide’s clinic to his house consisted of comfortable silence, and Shinichi found himself unwilling to break it. He was too busy trying not to cringe at the idea that he had just held hands with a murderer, and not in a ‘you’re a child and need to be lead places’ way. It was that same feeling he used to get when he held hands with Ran, well prior to this whole shrunken disaster. Not only that, he was pretty sure that the feeling had become somewhat mutual, which undoubtedly was what was terrifying him the most. When had Gin started to return this idea that they could possibly…?

“You’re staring Fox,” the blond stated swinging the classic Porsche around to the back road. The shrunken detective found himself turned bright red at the idea, he hadn’t noticed he had even turned the blond’s  direction actually…

“Sorry,” he mumbled turning away as the blond parked. “Were you really going to shoot Kid in a clinic full of innocent people?” He inquired, he wasn’t sure why he was asking because the obvious answer was ‘duh.’

“I was thinking about it,” the blond responded pulling the parking brake up, “then I recalled that I would have better opportunities to do so with less witnesses.” The smirk he was making as he moved to get out of the Porsche wasn’t as spine chilling as it ought to have been. The detective made his way towards the door while the assassin lingered to lock up the car. It was… surreal to be doing something so mundane after so much espionage, then again it felt strange to be walking up to his own house.

When Shinichi realized this he was rather confused by the idea. Was he beginning to change what he considered home to be now? Up until the moment when he entered the gloomy house this time he had always thought of this house as his home. As friendly as Ran was he had never really considered the space that she and her father shared as a home for him. Good food and someone to look out for him aside it still felt like he was off abroad somewhere even after as long as he had spent there. Holmes might have described the feeling as peculiar, right now to Shinichi it was unsettling. If he no longer considered Kudou manor home then what had his mind replaced it with?

 

GIN

He didn’t miss the way that the shrunken detective paused at the door, nor the way that his expression turned to one of mortified confusion. The strange thing was that Gin was positive that the expression didn’t have anything to do with him. He had no doubt of that because while the detective had been silent all the way from the clinic he had been smiling contentedly at whatever was crossing his mind, and about half that time he had been staring at Gin. Perhaps he had forgotten to get the antidote from the detective he stayed with? No, there would have been more worry than that the assassin suspected.

The detective vanished into the house fairly quickly once that expression crossed his face, Gin followed after him, shutting the door behind him and was sure to lock it. No need to give the little detectives that followed the Fox any more openings. He made his way to the study where he and the Fox normally discussed things.

It takes less than a moment for the blond to realize something is bothering the shrunken detective. It might have been the fact this was the third time he comes in and out of the kitchen  with an empty mug that really drives the idea home. 

“Fox?” it’s amusing how the shrunken detective jumps at the slightest noise. He jumps a foot at the sound of his name, “am I really that frightening?” 

“No, it's just…” The detective sighs, “I’m just worried about nothing.” The assassin tilts his head and watches the boy as he sits down across from him. Something is still bothering the shrunken detective. 

“Obviously there is more to it,” the assassin responds pulling out his beretta and polishing it, “seeing as you are more distracted than usual.” 

“It's nothing, really,” the Fox blushes, “as for my plans after I take the antidote… My only real plan was that I wanted to go back to high school, have a normal life… I don’t know.” Color Gin surprised, no mention of the girl he’s been staying with since he was shrunk. The assassin starts taking apart the beretta, it needs cleaned again, the discharge was sticking a little when he fired several rounds at a time. 

“What about the Mouri girl?” he asks pulling the slide off, whatever’s slowing it down might be on the spring. Maybe it's dust… 

“Ran’s more like the sister I never had than anything else at this point,” the detective responds looking him straight in the eye, “I made a promise, and I intend to keep it.” Gin doesn’t ask what promise the detective is talking about, to be frank if it's because of a promise rather than a general want… Does he really want it? 

“How is it you attract more trouble than I do Fox?” The assassin comments trying to lead the subject away from the promise that started this all. Its funny because the detective knows he means the bodies rather than the actual trouble. 

“It's not like I do it on purpose,” the Fox mumbles looking at the floor, “I just walk out the front door and start tripping over them. I like to think I’ve made the best of it, becoming a detective to help make things right.” 

“Does it really serve a purpose? Making things right?” Gin asks glancing at the detective then back to his precious gun. 

“I don’t know, but it's all I can do. So. It keeps me sane,” he responds, “what is the plan now?” 

“Why does there need to be plan Fox?” Gin counters. The detective looks surprised, he’s also scowling. 

“Well usually you have something in mind before I end up whisked away to nowhere, or in this case my own house,” the Fox offers by way of explanation, “also…” 

“Ah,” Gin can’t help the smirk, “all you have in your fridge is coffee isn’t it?” The Fox scowls, it was exactly why he had made all the trips in and out of the kitchen earlier. He’s unsurprised that the kitchen’s empty given the detective doesn’t stay here for the most part. 

“Unfortunately,” the detective groans, “can we get something to eat now?”  

 

KUDOU SHINICHI 

It's more than a little surprising when Gin leaves him to fetch groceries. Or at least that’s the impression Shinichi gets. He gets a call from Haibara however while this is going on. 

“ _He does know how to cook actually,”_ the comment comes before he can ask what she wants, “ _he’s got a thing for chemistry obviously, cooking is just a different form of it.”_  

“Do I even want to know how you know that?” Shinichi is thinking more about how she knows Gin went to get food to cook. 

“ _He asked me what you liked food wise,”_ she adds, “ _he also mentioned he’s tired of people temporarily, and that restaurants aren’t an option given his profession..”_ Shinichi can’t help but chuckle at that, and Sherry lets out her own laugh at it. 

“So the antidote for the Apotoxin is nearly complete?” he asks wondering how soon he’s going to have to start making preparations. 

“ _Next week tops, going to test it for a few extra days on non-human subjects. Gin and I both are too fond of you to let you die because we got too eager_ ,” Haibara’s suggestion that Gin is actually fond of him sets off that ridiculous blush again. 

“About that… I’ve just come to a startling conclusion. Haibara,” Shinichi pauses, “I just realized I don’t find find my own house to be home anymore.” There’s a brief snicker on the other end of the phone before he realizes Haibara knows more than she’s saying yet again. 

“ _I’m not surprised, you’ve also managed to break **him** in this process if I’m at all honest. He’s thinking about more than just… his profession_ ,” there’s a slight hesitation before she continues, “ _This is a dangerous road that you are walking Kudou Kun, be sure that you remember that._ ” 

“It's too late for a different choice now Haibara,” he responds, “I'm not sure I'd want to change paths.” He can hear the sharp intake of breath from the other end of the line. 

“ _Just be careful you idiot,_ ” she hangs up and Shinichi finds himself wondering what he should prepare himself for. The worst where Gin decides to shoot him because he's bored? Or this uncertain path where the assassin is legitimately good at cooking.  

GIN 

He wasn’t sure what the hell he was thinking, but evidently it didn’t lessen the Fox’s curiosity. Kudou had checked in once to see if he needed help finding anything in the kitchen. Two minutes later they both concluded that not only did Gin have the situation well in hand he probably knew where more of the items were than Kudou did. The only exceptions being coffee related items. Gin’s hair was pulled back, and the meal was created.  

He could say for certain that he wasn’t looking for anything complicated, but steak had sounded appealing at the store. Then came the fact he really needed cigarettes, so one unlit one was dangling from lips as he prepped up something random that Vodka had sent him weeks ago. Which reminded him, he needed to have a certain discussion with the portly agent. He dialed the number and waited for it to connect. 

“ _Aniki?_ ” he sounded terrified, what had he? Never mind. 

“What the hell is 4chan?” He asks mixing his latest ingredients in a bowl. Vodka much to his amusement starts to stutter an explanation and Gin finds it rather unsatisfactory. “Get it off of my laptop home screen, now.” 

“ _Yes Aniki,_ ” Vodka’s voice is solemn, “ _I may have broken my pistol again…”_ Gin sighs, this is not surprising. 

“What did I tell you about cleaning it anywhere other than the table?” Gin asks whisking something together, “I’ll fix it later. Don’t touch anything, except the laptop. Get that off of my laptop now.” He hung up the phone, it might be better not to leave Vodka on his own anymore..

He called the Fox in to grab his own plate and made his way back into the study. It was always unnerving how little dust the largely unused house had, how could the Fox tell if someone had broken in or not? He sat down in one of the leather chairs and waited for the detective to take the other seat. "I got the antidote back from Mouri Tantei yesterday, he's still too suspicious though," the Fox announces as he takes a bite, his eyes widen, "this is delicious."

"You're welcome. What do you plan to do about it then? It is your problem right now not mine," Gin responds, "you don't like my solutions when it comes to your friends last time I checked."

"No, I'd rather you didn't shoot my friends," he responds in deadpan, "but what do you want me to do with the antidote I have?"

“Flush it,” he answered, “the final antidote should be ready be ready next week, Sherry’s testing it right now.” 

“Well that’s good news, I’ll have to start completing my school testing then, that way I don’t raise suspicions when I return to class,” the detective smiled, “I can’t wait for this shrunken nightmare to be over…”

Gin didn’t respond right away, he still wondered if the detective was truly ready to fulfill the other half of their agreement. He instead nodded to the detective’s statement, only time would tell though.

“You wondered what Vermouth did yesterday,” Gin started watching the detective closely, his eyes were instantly on Gin’s. They held a certain amount of curiosity, and Gin was about to continue with the detective set the tea aside.

“I did,” the detective folded his hands, “it might be better if I didn’t know though. The whole plausible deniability thing…” Gin couldn’t help but smirk at that remark, the detective honestly thought he had done something illegal then. Well that was far more dignified than what Vermouth actually arranged, not that Gin had been complaining about any of what transpired yesterday.

“Good choice Fox,” the blond nods.

"One thing though, I'm pretty sure I can do it without causing you any trouble or giving away any real information," the Fox starts. The Fox then told him his new plan, one Gin didn't care for, but he did agree it would make the situation decidingly less interesting in the meantime.

The Fox was going to bring the elder detective up to speed on some of what was going on.

 

 

VERMOUTH

The master of disguise watched in silent amusement as Gin appeared on her monitors, it wasn’t particularly surprising that the assassin was at Kudou’s place. No, the silent amusement was over the bizarre development that Kudou was holding the assassin’s hand when they walked out of the clinic earlier. The blonde master of disguise had cackled mercilessly taking screen shots of the two of them, she was already doing surveillance for a different type of blackmail, it wasn't difficult to sneak a small monitor of the two of them up and into the corner.

The expressions that both of them spoke volumes about how their ‘relationship’ was going so far. She had no doubt the detective wasn’t worried about the other end of his deal anymore, but Gin didn’t need to know that. In her humble opinion after last night’s debauchery he would need to make it up to the detective. She would need to remember to pay the woman handsomely for her role in this.

She was equally surprised when Gin brought up the matter to the detective, but not as much so as when Kudou stated he was better off not knowing. That was enough to make her drop her coffee in shock, Gin looked rather surprised by the detective’s statement as well. He would probably murder her when he realized she had Kudou manor bugged for her own entertainment, but she figured moments like this made the danger worth it. Kudou wasn’t going to ask so Gin wasn’t going to tell…

Vermouth did wonder how the Fox would have taken finding out that she had hooked up his soon to be bed partner with a woman for the night, alas it would not be today.

 

MOURI KOGORO (Sometime later at Mouri Detective Agency)

Kogoro watched as Conan flushed the antidote down the toilet, after he made such a big deal about it only being an antidote for an underlying condition…  The kid looked at him seriously, that very serious look that Hattori Heiji had interrupted before. He followed the kid to the front office, and where he gestured for him to take a seat.  He  took out his bowtie  and then his cell phone and placed them on the table in front of him.

"I have not been entirely truthful about all the circumstances of me showing up here,"  Conan started, "before I begin I must ask exactly when Ran is going to be coming home. I would rather this stayed between the two of us."

"Ran is over at the Suzuki girl's house for the weekend, I will call just to double check, then I expect some answers from you Conan," Kogoro called his daughter's cell, "Moshi moshi. Ran, Conan kun and I are going to have a guy's weekend, you are coming home after school on Monday, right?"

" _That's the plan yes, why?"_ his daughter's skeptical side could have come from him or Eri, he would suspect it was something she inherited more from him at this point.

"Conan wanted to make sure you were safe first, and not kidnapped or something… He seems convinced you can't go anywhere by yourself without being kidnapped," Kogoro looks over at Conan who has a bemused  smirk as he removes his glasses and places them next to the other two objects. He massages his temples gingerly.

" _I am fine, you can manage to pass that onto Conan kun I assume?"_   Ran's voice holds the tinyist bit of amusement in it, " _have fun, and don't kill him while I'm gone."_

"I'll try not to, but I make no promises," Kogoro responds watching the boy continue to rub his temples in a way that says he has a most irritating headache. "Take care Ran." She responds likewise and the boy opened his eyes.

"Please hand me the phone," Conan requests, curiously Kogoro does so. It appears that whatever he is about to say he really intends for it to stay between the two of them. "I didn't lie about the pill, it is an antidote, but it's not just any condition."

"What type of condition?" Kogoro asks as the kid forces both phones to power down.

"My current condition was brought about by carelessness on my part. Allow me to continue, I was poisoned, by a man in dark clothing at a theme park called Tropical Land quite a while ago. The poison was called Apotoxin 4869, it was developed by a secret organization to silence their targets without leaving any trace behind, only it clearly failed," the boy explains looking straight into his eyes, "am I lying to you?"

"No," Kogoro feels his spine tingle, such an elaborate story should be fake, only this brat couldn't lie. He was incapable of it, and none of his tells were visible. Every sentence, every word, every nuance was exactly as it should be. It could only be the truth. "As impossible as it sounds, every word has been the truth."

"Exactly, the truth so impossible you never would have believed it until now, but Ran can never know. I owe you an explanation for the many months that you have allowed me the privilege of staying in your home while I picked up all the pieces of my life," Conan explains in that same even tone, "I used you, particularly your office and influence to find the men responsible for my condition. The man I call Ishida San is one of those men, he and Haibara both work for that organization. I'm afraid that's all of that part of the story I can tell you."

"But it isn't the end of the story?" Kogoro asks noticing the phrasing, "what happened to your friend?" Conan smiles sadly, and weaves his fingers together.

"Haibara Ai is the one who made Apotoxin 4869, and we have both been poisoned by it. Her name is really Amano Shiho," Conan pauses dramatically and pulls the bowtie up to his face, the voice that comes through it next is chillingly familiar, "she was a scientist working for them, and I sent her back as part of a deal to protect you, Ran, and the Shonen Tantei from my original mistake. I followed Ishida san's partner and witnessed a blackmail scheme. At the time I was so engrossed in following him that Ishida himself snuck up behind me. I was hit upside the head with a baseball bat, after which I was poisoned and left for dead."

"That voice is… Kudou Shinichi's?" Kogoro watched the smile fade from Conan's face.

"Correct, and this is my real voice. I am Kudou Shinichi," Conan answered via the bowtie, "I put everyone in danger, and for that there are no words. What I can tell you is that I have done what I can to make things right, and to protect all of you from my mistake."

"You've been  stuck as a seven year old living in my house this whole time," Kogoro resists the urge to laugh at the irony, "but why have I heard the name Amano before?"

"The woman who robbed a bank for the organization, then stole the money to hold it ransom to try to free her sister, Haibara from their clutches. She was assassinated for her efforts, by the same man that poisoned me I believe," Conan looks tragically sad, "she died in my arms, I found some cassette tapes for her, but it was too little too late. Akemi is dead, and her FBI agent boyfriend has a personal vendetta against the man."

Kogoro is less than surprised that a covert organization assassinated someone who stole from them, let alone made enemies in the process. Watching someone do the right thing and then die for it however is hard on even a seasoned veteran, let alone a kid like Kudou.

"It's not your fault Bozu," Kogoro comments, "but why tell me now?" The kid sighs and finally drops onto the other couch.

"I made a deal not too long ago to put everything back together, including getting myself back into my original size. That's what those temporary antidotes do, change me back to my teenage self rather than this primary school size," he explains, "the newest antidote is in testing, and I might finally be back to my normal size in a few months. Ran is going to be heartbroken because 'Conan' is leaving, and upset with me because I won't be available afterwards."

"Why wouldn't you be available afterwards?" Kogoro watches the expression on his face, it looks pained.

"It's extremely painful, and there's no telling how long it will last. I'll need time to recover from my bones rapidly growing and getting my hand eye coordination back," the kid replies, "also… its part of the deal. I have to earn my way back out of their clutches, the thwarted terrorism plot was part of that."

"So then what's my part in this?" Kogoro lights a cigarette, "why do I need to know?"

"Your part is to do what you always do Mouri Occhan, protect Ran. To let her know that everything is going to be okay even if I can't, can you do that for me Occhan?" the kid looked as lost as he'd ever seen him.

"I can do that Kudou," he responds with a nod of his head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry to take so long, when people start dying around you its a lot harder to work on your projects.
> 
> Lots of close folks died, both my folks in 2014 & 2015 and a cousin who was close like a brother in 2016 day before my birthday. Finally managed to get this transition done. Hopefully I can work a little faster with this done.

**Author's Note:**

> Seeing as I am new to A03 as an author (I've been reading on here for a little over a year), any recommendations as to what I should add to the Tags would be highly appreciated. Thank you, Hittocere


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